Preschool missing letters worksheets
Missing letters worksheets for preschool: eight short runs of the alphabet, like A, B and D with the C left out. Your child says the letters, works out which one is missing and writes it in the box. The whole alphabet sits in a strip at the top to check against. Capitals and small letters each have their own sheet.
Free printable PDF worksheet.
Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.
Need one more? These are the skills next door at this grade.
The kind of rows you'll fill in
Say the letters in order. Write each missing letter in its box.
F G H ?B C ? EI ? K LM N O ?U ? W XP Q ? S
Each row is a run of capital letters in alphabet order with a box for each missing letter: one in a preschool row, two in a kindergarten one. The key gives every row in full.
Every print pulls a new set of letters at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.
What's on a preschool sheet
- Missing capital letters. Say the letters in order. Write each missing letter in its box. 8 rows per page.
- Missing small letters. Say the letters in order. Write each missing letter in its box. 8 rows per page.
Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.
How to teach this
Sing the alphabet together first, pointing to each letter in the strip at the top. Then, for each row, put a finger on the first letter and say the letters out loud. When you reach the box, stop and ask what comes next. If your child is stuck, find the same letters in the strip and slide along to the gap. Most preschoolers start with the capitals sheet and move to small letters once they know the capitals by name. Two or three rows at a time is plenty.
Watch for: Singing from A every time. It works, but it is slow, and the skill is knowing what comes after any letter. Once the song is solid, start from the letter just before the box. Running L, M, N, O and P together into one sound, the way the song does. A child who sings it as one word has trouble finding the gap there, so slow that part down. Writing b for d or d for b on the small letters sheet. The letters around the box settle it: b comes after a, and d comes after c.
Common questions about preschool missing letters
- Should my preschooler learn capitals or small letters first?
- Capitals, for most children. They are mostly straight lines and simple curves, and they are the letters on signs and in names. The capitals sheet is the first one on this page; print the small letters sheet when your child is ready for it.
- What if my child has to sing from A every time?
- That is how it starts, and it is fine. The strip at the top helps: find the letter before the box, then say the next one. With practice, children start partway through the alphabet on their own.
- How many letters are missing in each row?
- One. Each row is four letters with one box, and the box is never the first letter, so your child always has a letter in front of it to count on from.
Related worksheets
- Kindergarten missing letters A step harder, same skill
- Preschool beginning sounds Same grade, nearby skill
- Preschool Dolch pre-primer sight words Same grade, nearby skill
- Preschool picture words Same grade, nearby skill
- Preschool rhyming pictures Same grade, nearby skill
- Missing letters, all grades The full progression
- All preschool English worksheets Every skill at this level
- All preschool worksheets Everything at this level
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Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.
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