Sight Word Not Worksheet

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NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comnotnotnotnotnotnotnotnotTrace it. Then write it.Find "not". Circle it every time. How many did you find?Read it. Say it. Spell it aloud.notnotnothotnownotnowgotknotnogotnotknotnethotnotenotnutnot
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comWrite the missing word. Then read the sentence.Read the sentence. Then write it.Cut out the letters at the bottom. Glue them here in order to build the word.I amsad.This is not my hat.ont
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comFind "not". Circle it every time. How many did you find?Write the missing word. Then read the sentence.Cut out the letters at the bottom. Glue them here in order to build the word.Read it. Say it. Spell it aloud.Answer keynot6notnothotnownotnowgotknotnogotnotknotnethotnotenotnutnotI amsad.notnotont
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The word "not" on 2 pages and 1 page of answers, Letter landscape.

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Pick from the 12 sentences with "not"

The whole list is under the tool. With scripts on, each line here can be pressed to put it on the sheet.

Next step Make the sheet for no, the word it is misread asMake the sheet for do, its partner in do not and don't

The sight words and their practice lines

The word on its own 3

  • not 3 letters for 3 sounds: n, short o, t. Every letter says its usual sound, so the word can be sounded out. Only the t goes tall, and nothing drops under the base line.
  • Not not Capital N beside small n. The capital is three straight strokes; the small one is a stick and one hump. Not yet, but soon. starts with the capital.
  • not not not not Four to trace in one row. Have the child cross each t last, after the stick is drawn, so no t is left looking like an l.
Show all 34 practice lines (31 more)

Spot-the-word rows 4

  • net not nut not Circle not 2 times. Net and nut keep the n and the t and change only the vowel in the middle, so the child has to look inside the word.
  • not don't not isn't Circle not 2 times. Don't and isn't are do not and is not pushed together: the o is gone and an apostrophe marks its place. A row for children who have met contractions.
  • not no not now not Circle not 3 times. No is the word with its t left off, and its o turns long. Now swaps the t for a w and says ow. The last letter decides.
  • not note not knot Circle not 2 times. Note adds a silent e, and the o turns long. Knot adds a silent k and sounds exactly the same: it is the kind you tie.

Missing-letter rows 3

  • n_t h_t p_t g_t The same letter is missing four times: o, to build not, hot, pot and got. All four rhyme. Other vowels would fit some gaps, so say the rhyme first.
  • no_ n_t _ot One letter is missing each time: t, then o, then n. The t comes first because a word left at n-o reads as no.
  • not no_ n__ ___ A fading row: copy the word, add one letter, then two, then write all three from memory.

Phrases: not after a helper word, not before a time, not on its own 12

  • did not Not comes right after a helper word. Did sounds out, and it reads the same forward and backward. Said fast, the pair becomes didn't.
  • had not Had sounds out. The a in had and the o in not are both short, so say each word slowly and listen for the change in the middle.
  • must not The words of a firm rule. Must sounds out and ends in the blend s-t, so both words on this row end in t.
  • not a lot Only a little. Not and lot rhyme, and only the first letter differs. The a in the middle says uh.
  • not again What people say when the milk spills twice. Again is a word to learn whole; clap a-gain as two beats.
  • not me The answer to Who did it? Me ends in a long e. A whole answer in five letters.
  • not now Two words that start n-o and end differently. In now the o and the w team up to say ow.
  • not so hot Not and hot rhyme and end in o-t. So has the same o standing open at the end, where it says its name.
  • not today Today is to and day joined up, so a child who reads both small words can read the big one.
  • not yet It will happen, only later. Yet sounds out and rhymes with net, and both words end in t.
  • why not A question in two words, and a friendly way to say yes. Why starts with w-h and ends in a y that says the name of the letter i.
  • will not A helper word, then not. Will sounds out and doubles its l. The short form, won't, changes the vowel as well as dropping letters.

Sentences to read and copy 12

  • A bat is not a bird. 6 words, and a true fact: a bat has fur and feeds its young on milk. Bat sounds out; bird has the ir of girl.
  • I am not sad. 4 words, and every one sounds out but I. Cover not and the sentence says the opposite. Sad has the short a of am.
  • I did not get wet. 5 words, and four of them end in t or d. Did, get and wet all sound out. A line for a rainy day.
  • Is it hot or not? 5 words and a question mark. The word comes last and rhymes with hot, two words back. Or is one to learn whole.
  • It is not a knot. 5 words. Not and knot sound the same. The one with the silent k is the kind tied in a lace. The s in is sounds like a z.
  • It is not. It isn't. 5 words in two short sentences that mean the same. In the second, is and not are pushed together and an apostrophe stands where the o was.
  • No, I did not. 4 words and a comma. No and not start the same way. No stops at a long o; not shuts the o in with a t and keeps it short.
  • Not yet, but soon. 4 words and a comma. The word comes first, with a capital N. Yet and but sound out; soon has the oo of moon.
  • The pot is not hot. 5 words. Pot, not and hot all rhyme and end in o-t, so one pattern reads three words.
  • This is not my hat. 5 words. Hat sounds out. My ends in a y that says i. This starts with the buzzing th.
  • We will not run. 4 words: a hallway rule. Will and run sound out. We ends in a long e.
  • Why not sit with us? 5 words and a question mark. Why not is an invitation here. Sit and us sound out; with ends in t-h.

How this list was compiled: Every line was written for this site on 2026-09-18 and read aloud for sense. No line is taken from a published sight word list or workbook, and the page claims no list or grade level for the word. Spellings were checked against the macOS system word list on 2026-09-18; the contractions don't and isn't are not in that list and were checked one by one. The counts in the spot-the-word rows and the word counts of the sentences were worked out. That not is said with a short o, that knot is said exactly like it, and that don't, isn't, didn't and won't are listed as terms built on not: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/not (pronunciation, homophones and related terms, checked 2026-09-18). That a bat is not a bird is common knowledge and was not looked up. Sound notes describe general American pronunciation. Licence: own work

How it works

Not sounds out, n, short o, t, so spelling is rarely the trouble. Skipping it is. This sight word not worksheet has the child trace it, circle it among no, now, net and nut, and finish I am ___ sad.

Read the full guide

Skip it and the sentence flips

Skip the or a and a sentence means much the same. Skip not and it turns over: I am not sad. becomes I am sad. Have the child cover not with a finger, read the rest, and say whether it is still true. Try A bat is not a bird. Then read the line with not said loudest.

Where not hides: don't, isn't, won't

Don't, isn't, didn't and won't each drop the o and mark the gap with an apostrophe. A child who reads not may stall at didn't. The row not don't not isn't and the line It is not. It isn't. show both forms. The row does not print. Press Show all 34 practice lines near the foot of this page to see both.

  • No can answer a question alone. Not needs a sentence around it. No, I did not. holds both.
  • Knot sounds exactly like not. Tie one in a lace, then write It is not a knot.
  • Write the row n_t h_t p_t g_t on the board. First chant not, hot, pot, got, so the rhyme picks the vowel.

Questions and answers

Is not a word to sound out or to learn by sight?

It sounds out: n, short o, t, each letter with its usual sound. What takes practice is reading it so quickly that it is never skipped. It also has to be told from no and now, which share its first two letters.

My student reads not as no. Which rows help?

Write not no not now not on the board and ask for 3 circles, with a finger under each last letter. Then write the missing-letter row no_ n_t _ot, which asks for the t first. Keep No, I did not. as the final check.

Where does not go in a sentence?

After a helper word: did not, will not, must not, had not. It also follows am and is, as in This is not my hat. Have the child find the helper first, then the not right behind it.

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