Sight Word Was Worksheet

Press Print worksheet for 2 pages on the word "was" plus 1 page of answers, on Letter or A4 paper.

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NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comwaswaswaswaswaswaswaswasTrace it. Then write it.Find "was". Circle it every time. How many did you find?Read it. Say it. Spell it aloud.wassawwaywaswasaswarwaywashassawwaswaswantwarwashaswagwag
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.Ita fun day.A cat was on my lap.aws
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comFind "was". 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 keywas5sawwaywaswasaswarwaywashassawwaswaswantwarwashaswagwagIta fun day.waswasaws
Page 1 of 3

The word "was" on 2 pages and 1 page of answers, Letter landscape.

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What goes on the sheet
Pick from the 12 sentences with "was"

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 does, its rhyme, just as oddly spelledMake the sheet for want, another misleading a after w

The sight words and their practice lines

The word on its own 3

  • was 3 letters for 3 sounds, but only the w says what a child expects. The a sounds like the u in bus and the s buzzes like z. All three letters sit between the dashed line and the base line.
  • Was was Capital W beside small w: the same zigzag at two heights. Questions such as Was it hot? need the capital.
  • was was was was Four to trace in one row. The child says the w sound before each one, so the pencil starts at the pointed letter and never at the s.

Spot-the-word rows 4

  • has was as was his Circle was 2 times. Has, as and his end in the same buzzing s. Only was opens with a w.
  • was saw was saw Circle was 2 times. Saw is the same three letters in the opposite order, and both words have the same flat outline, so only the first letter tells them apart.
  • was wag was way Circle was 2 times. Wag and way open with w-a as well, so the last letter decides. In wag the a says the a of cat; in was it does not.
  • was wash was want Circle was 2 times. Wash starts with the whole word and adds an h. Want shares the first two letters and then carries on.
Show all 34 practice lines (27 more)

Missing-letter rows 3

  • w_s s_w w_s s_w The missing letter is a every time: was, saw, was, saw. What changes is the end the w sits on.
  • wa_ w_s _as One letter is missing each time: s, then a, then w. The middle gap is the one children fill with u, because u is the sound they hear.
  • was wa_ w__ ___ The word fades from the right. Copy it, then write one more letter from memory each time until all three are the child's own.

Short phrases with was 12

  • I was The pair that opens a recount of the weekend. I is a capital wherever it stands.
  • is and was Now and then. Is tells about today and was tells about a time that is over. Both end in an s that says z.
  • it was me What a child says when owning up. It sounds out, and me ends in an e that says its name.
  • she was Sh is one sound from two letters, and the e in she says its name. Was keeps its buzz at the end.
  • there was How many stories begin. There is a word to learn whole.
  • was and saw The mirror pair on one line. Read each word slowly with a finger under its first letter.
  • was at home At sounds out. The e on the end of home is silent and lets the o say its name.
  • was in bed In and bed both sound out, which leaves was as the one word to know by sight.
  • was it you Three words that open a question. Ask the child to finish it aloud before writing.
  • was not The long way to write wasn't, and inside wasn't the word keeps its full sound. Not sounds out: n, o, t.
  • was so glad So ends in an o that says its name. Glad starts with the blend g-l and sounds out.
  • was too hot Too with two o's means more than is wanted. Hot sounds out.

Sentences to read and copy 12

  • A cat was on my lap. 6 words, the longest line here. Cat, on and lap sound out.
  • The bus was late. 4 words. Bus sounds out, and its u is the sound the a makes in was. The e on late is silent.
  • The dog was wet. 4 words. Dog and wet sound out. Change one word and the line is about today: The dog is wet.
  • I saw who it was. 5 words, with saw and was in one line. Find both, then say which one starts with s.
  • I was at the park. 5 words. At sounds out, and the ar in park sounds like the name of the letter r. Swap park for the place the child really went.
  • I was not in bed. 5 words. Not, in and bed all sound out. Said quickly, the second and third words close up into wasn't.
  • It was a fun day. 5 words. It and fun sound out, and the ay in day says a long a. A line to copy the morning after a trip or a party.
  • It was his turn. 4 words. Was and his both end in an s that says z. The ur in turn is one sound.
  • That was my hat. 4 words. That and hat rhyme, and both have the a of cat, the sound the a in was does not make.
  • Was it a big fish? 5 words and a question mark. Big sounds out, and the sh in fish is one sound from two letters.
  • Was it hot? 3 words and a question mark. The word comes first here, so it takes a capital W.
  • Yes, it was. 3 words, the answer to Was it hot? At the end of a sentence the word is said in full, so its u sound and its z are easy to hear.

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; has is a plain verb form that the list leaves out, and was checked separately. The counts in the spot-the-word rows and the word counts of the sentences were worked out. That the strong form of was is said with the vowel of bus in North America and ends in a z sound, that its weak form has a neutral vowel, that wuz and wus are recorded as spellings, that saw is an anagram, and that the standard language of 1500 to 1700 still usually said the word with the a of cat: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/was (pronunciation, alternative forms, anagrams and the Middle English etymology note, checked 2026-09-18). That was rhymes with buzz, fuzz and does in North America: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Rhymes:English/ʌz (checked 2026-09-18). That was is reduced in running speech but keeps its full form when it ends a sentence and when it is joined to not: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_and_vowel_reduction_in_English (checked 2026-09-18). Sound notes describe general American pronunciation. Licence: own work

How it works

Children spell was as it sounds, wuz, and read it as saw, the same letters reversed. This sight word was sheet has them trace it and circle it among "saw", "has", "as" and "wag". They finish the sentence It ___ a fun day.

Read the full guide

Only the w does what a child expects

Was has 3 letters for 3 sounds, and two of them mislead. Wiktionary rhymes the North American word with buzz, fuzz and does. The a says the u of bus and the s says z. British speakers use the o of hot. The same entry lists wuz as a spelling in real use. It notes that from 1500 to 1700 the word still usually had the a of cat.

Is and was, side by side

"Was" is what "is" becomes once the day is over. Say "The dog is wet." The child finds its partner, "The dog was wet.", under Pick from the 12 sentences with "was". Mid-sentence the word is mumbled. Said last, as in "Yes, it was.", it comes out in full.

  • Was and saw share one flat outline: no tall letter, no tail. Touch the first letter and say its sound.
  • Write "The bus was late." Bus and was share a vowel sound but not a vowel letter. Underline each.
  • Inside wasn't the word keeps its full sound. Write was not, then wasn't, and ask which letter the apostrophe replaced.

Questions and answers

Why does my student write wuz for the was sight word?

Wuz is an honest report of what the ear hears. Two of the three letters have to be remembered, not heard. Have the child say the word, then name w, a and s aloud while tracing each letter.

My student reads was as saw. Which lines help?

Write the row "was saw was saw" on the board, with a finger under each first letter. The row "w_s s_w w_s s_w" follows. "I saw who it was." holds both words. Press it under Pick from the 12 sentences with "was" to print it.

Can was be sounded out?

Only the w. In American speech the a says a short u and the s says z. So two of its three letters have to be remembered. Teach it whole, beside does, which ends in the same two sounds.

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