now3 letters for 2 sounds: n, then o and w as a team saying the ow of cow. The same three letters in other orders spell own and won, and the same o-w says long o inside know and snow.
Now nowCapital N beside small n, and the two are different shapes. The capital is a tall stick, then a slant and a second stick. The small n is a short stick and a hump. A sentence that opens with now needs the capital.
now now now nowFour to trace in one row. All three letters sit between the dashed line and the bottom line, with no tall stick and no tail. The n is a short stick and a hump in one stroke. The w is one zigzag.
Show all 33 practice lines (30 more)
Spot-the-word rows 4
how now wow nowCircle now 2 times. How and wow rhyme with now and change only the first letter. An h is an n with a taller stick, so look at the height.
now know now snowCircle now 2 times. Know and snow hold all of now inside them, and in both the o-w says long o. Know sounds the same as no: its k is silent.
now no now on nowCircle now 3 times. No is now without its w, and on is no turned around. Count the letters: now has three, the other two words have two.
now own now wonCircle now 2 times. Own and won use the same three letters: Wiktionary lists both as anagrams of now. Read now from right to left and it spells won.
Missing-letter rows 3
n_w no_ _owFill in o, then w, then n, one letter of now in each gap. With an e the first gap would spell new, so say the word before writing.
no_ o_n _onOne letter fills all three gaps: w. It makes now, own and won, and the w moves from last place to the middle to the front.
now n__ ___Now loses its ending, then everything. Write o-w, then the whole word without looking back.
Phrases that tell when 11
any day nowVery soon, though nobody knows the day. Any is a word to show whole, and day ends in a-y.
by nowBefore this moment, as in They are home by now. By ends in a y that says long i.
just nowA moment ago. Just sounds out, all four letters of it.
now and thenOnce in a while. And and then both sound out, so now is the only word on the line to watch.
now I seeWhat a child says when a thing makes sense at last. See has a double e.
now or neverThe last chance. Or is a vowel and an r said as one sound, and never is two beats.
now thatTwo words that join a reason to a result. An example: We can go out now that the rain is over. That sounds out once t-h is known.
now you tryWhat to say when handing over the pencil. Try ends in a y that says long i.
right nowThis very minute. Right has i-g-h saying long i, a team to show whole.
then and nowThe same three words turned around, with a new meaning: the past beside the present. A heading for two pictures of one place.
until nowUp to this moment and no further. Until is two beats, un and til, and both sound out.
Sentences to read and copy 12
Can we eat now?4 words. The question before lunch. Can sounds out, and eat has e-a saying long e.
I own a bike now.5 words. Own and now are the same three letters in two orders, and they do not rhyme: own has a long o.
It is a new day now.6 words. New and now differ only in the middle letter, e against o. Day ends in a-y.
My tooth is out now.5 words. News a child brings to school. Out has the vowel of now spelled o-u.
Now I know how.4 words. Know holds all of now, yet sounds the same as no. How rhymes with now. One line, three o-w words, two sounds.
Now it is my turn.5 words. Now comes first, so it takes the capital N. It and is sound out, and my ends in a y that says long i.
Now you see it.4 words. How a magic trick begins. Now comes first and takes the capital N.
See the snow now.4 words. Snow ends in the letters of now and does not rhyme with it: in snow the o-w says long o.
Sit down now.3 words, and two of them hold o-w saying the same sound: down and now. Sit sounds out.
We can go now.4 words. The sentence with the gap on the sheet. Now comes last and tells when. Can sounds out, and we and go end in long vowels.
We won just now.4 words. Won is now written backward, and it sounds the same as one. Just sounds out.
What time is it now?5 words. A question for a clock lesson. Time has a long i and a silent e. What is a word to show whole.
How this list was compiled: Every line was written for this site on 2026-09-20 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. That now is one syllable with the vowel of cow, that own and won are its anagrams, that now is recorded as a misspelling of know (with the example I don't now.), that now that works as a joining word (with an example about playing football once the rain stops), and that right now, just now, by now, now and then, now or never and any day now are set phrases built on it: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/now (pronunciation, etymology 2, conjunction sense, derived terms and anagrams, checked 2026-09-20). That how, cow and wow rhyme with now, and that low, snow, know and own do not: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Rhymes:English/a%CA%8A (one-syllable list, checked 2026-09-20). That know has a long o and no k sound and sounds the same as no: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/know (checked 2026-09-20). That snow has a long o: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snow (checked 2026-09-20). That own has a long o: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/own (checked 2026-09-20). That won sounds the same as one in most accents: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/won (checked 2026-09-20). That down and out have the vowel of now in general American speech: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/down and https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/out (checked 2026-09-20). Now is not in the lists of words with a weak form at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_and_vowel_reduction_in_English (checked 2026-09-20), so no line here says that it weakens. Where the pencil starts the small n, h, o and w and the capital N was read from the tool's own stroke table for the Print letter style. Spellings were checked against the macOS system word list. The counts in the spot-the-word rows, the word counts of the sentences and the count of sentences that end or open with now were worked out, and every line was measured with the tool's own letter widths to fit one row of the sheet. Sound notes describe general American pronunciation. Licence: own work
How it works
Now sounds out once o-w is taught, but its three letters also spell own and won. On this now sight word worksheet the child traces it, circles it among how, new, own and won, and writes it into We can go ___.
Read the full guide
Three letters that also spell own and won
Wiktionary lists own and won as anagrams of now. Read now from right to left and it says won, so a child who starts at the wrong end still reads a real word. Own and won both wait in the find grid. The row no_ o_n _on takes one w in every gap and shows it moving from the end to the middle to the front.
Now hides inside know and snow
In now the o-w says the ow of cow, and how and wow rhyme with it. Inside know and snow the same two letters say long o. Now I know how. holds three o-w words and both sounds. Read it aloud and ask which word does not rhyme.
Sort six cards by ear: now, how and cow in one pile, know, snow and own in the other.
Build now from its tiles. Move the n to the end and the word is own.
Say now you try each time the pencil changes hands, and point to the word on a card.
Questions and answers
Why does my student write now for know?
All of now sits inside know, and the k makes no sound, so dropping it feels safe. Wiktionary records now as a misspelling of know. Know sounds the same as no. The row now know now snow asks for 2 circles.
How do I help a child tell now from how?
They rhyme, so the ear will not help. Look at the first letter: an h is an n with a taller stick. In the row how now wow now only the first letters change, and it asks for 2 circles.
Does now sound out?
Yes, once the child knows that o-w can say the ow of cow. N plus that sound is the whole word. Teach it beside how and cow, which Wiktionary's rhyme list groups with it, and keep snow and know for later.
Where does now go in a sentence?
In 9 of the 12 sentences on this page now comes last and tells when, as in Can we eat now? In the other 3 it comes first and takes a capital N, a different shape from the small one: Now it is my turn.