Sight Word When Worksheet

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NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comwhenwhenwhenwhenwhenwhenTrace it. Then write it.Find "when". Circle it every time. How many did you find?Read it. Say it. Spell it aloud.whenwentwhenwhohenwhowinwhatwhenwhenwhywherethenwinhenwhenwhenwhenwhere
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.can we go?When did he come?wehn
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comFind "when". 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 keywhen6wentwhenwhohenwhowinwhatwhenwhenwhywherethenwinhenwhenwhenwhenwhereWhencan we go?whenwehn
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The word "when" 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 "when"

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 what, the question word it is misread asMake the sheet for where, the same w-h-e with another ending

The sight words and their practice lines

The word on its own 3

  • when 4 letters for 3 sounds: wh, e, n. Cover the w and hen is left, which rhymes with it. Only the h goes tall.
  • When when Capital W beside small w: one shape at two sizes. Every question that starts with the word needs the big one.
  • when when when Three to trace, and the row is four fifths full. W is the widest small letter in the print style, so a fourth copy would wrap.

Spot-the-word rows 4

  • went when want Circle when 1 time. Went starts w-e-n as well, but has a t and no h. Want keeps the w, the n and the t.
  • when then when hen Circle when 2 times. Then trades the w for a t, and hen is the same word with the w taken off. All three rhyme.
  • when win when Circle when 2 times. In much of the southern United States when and win sound the same, so the eye has to look for the h and the e.
  • why when who when Circle when 2 times. Why and who open with w-h too, so the child has to read past the first two letters.
Show all 35 practice lines (28 more)

Missing-letter rows 4

  • _hen w__n wh__ First the w is missing, then the two middle letters, then the last two. With the w gone the child can read hen and hear the rhyme.
  • w_en w_y w_o Write h each time to finish when, why and who. In when and why the h is silent for most speakers; in who it is the w that goes quiet.
  • whe_ wh_n w_en One letter is missing each time: n, then e, then h. The h is the gap to watch, because most speakers never say it.
  • when whe_ wh__ Copy the word, then finish it twice from memory: first the n alone, then the e and the n.

Short phrases with when 12

  • say when What you tell someone who is pouring your milk: they keep going until you speak up. The word comes last, with a small w.
  • since when A way to ask how long something has been true. Since has a c that says s and a silent e.
  • when and where Two w-h question words in one line: one asks for a time, the other for a place.
  • when I grow up A writing starter for the empty row. Grow has the ow of snow, and up sounds out.
  • when I wake up A starter about every morning. Wake has a silent e that lets the a say its name.
  • when I was six A starter about the past. Six sounds out, and its x says k-s. Was is a word to learn whole.
  • when is it The shortest question starter. Is and it both sound out, and both start with i.
  • when it is dark It and is sound out. Dark has the ar of car.
  • when it rains A starter about weather. It sounds out, and rains has the ai of wait.
  • when to stop No question here: it finishes a thought such as I know when to stop. Stop sounds out as s-t-o-p.
  • when we get home When and get share a short e. Home ends in a silent e that lets the o say its name.
  • when you can A polite ending, as in Help me when you can. Can sounds out.

Sentences to read and copy 12

  • I grin when I win. 5 words. When and win share one line, so the child can compare them. Grin and win sound out and rhyme.
  • I nap when I can. 5 words and a period. When joins two halves here and asks nothing. Nap and can sound out.
  • I sing when I dig. 5 words, the same ones turned around. The when part now comes second, and the comma is gone.
  • Tell me when to go. 5 words. A command, so it ends in a period. Tell sounds out and doubles its l.
  • When can we go? 4 words and a question mark. Can sounds out. We and go each end in a vowel that says its name.
  • When did he come? 4 words. Did sounds out. Come is a word to learn whole: it looks like home and rhymes with some.
  • When do we eat? 4 words. Do is a word to learn whole, and eat has the ea of sea.
  • When I dig, I sing. 5 words. The when part comes first, so a comma follows it. Dig sounds out, and sing ends in n-g.
  • When is lunch? 3 words. The question a class asks most mornings. Lunch sounds out with the team c-h on the end.
  • When is my turn? 4 words. Turn has the ur of fur. The answer starts with when's rhyme: Then.
  • When was that? 3 words, each with a catch: a silent h, an a that says u, and a t-h team. A question about the past.
  • When will it stop? 4 words. Will, it and stop all sound out. A line for a rainy day at the window.

How this list was compiled: Every line was written for this site in September 2026 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; rains is an s-form the list does not hold and was checked separately. The counts in the spot-the-word rows and the word counts of the sentences were worked out. That when rhymes with hen and then, that wen is a homophone for speakers who say wh as w, that win is a homophone for speakers who also have the pin-pen merger, and that the Old English form was hwonne: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/when (checked 2026-09-19). That the pin-pen merger is common across Southern American English and that the merged vowel is usually closer to the i of pin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels (checked 2026-09-19). That the great majority of English speakers say wh as plain w, and that Scotland and most of Ireland do not: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_⟨wh⟩ (checked 2026-09-19). The comma notes follow the usual school rule: a comma after a when clause that opens a sentence, none before one that closes it. Sound notes describe general American pronunciation. Licence: own work

How it works

Most children hear wen, and across the American South they hear win. Neither has an h. This sight word when worksheet has them trace it and circle it among "then", "went", "what" and "hen". They finish the sentence ___ can we go?

Read the full guide

W plus hen, because the ear is no help

Cover the w and hen is left. It rhymes with when, as then, ten and pen do. So w plus hen is the quickest way into the spelling. Wikipedia's article on wh says the great majority of English speakers say it as a plain w. Wiktionary lists wen as a homophone. Across the American South, e before n also drifts toward i, so when and win match.

When it comes first, it brings a comma

Under Pick from the 12 sentences with "when", seven are questions that start with a capital When. Two others teach a punctuation habit. If the when part comes first, a comma follows it: "When I dig, I sing." If it comes second, there is none: "I sing when I dig."

  • Write hen. Put a w in front for when, then trade the w for a t to get then.
  • Leave a spoken win for when alone. Ask which word in "I grin when I win." has the h.
  • Give "when I grow up" or "when I was six" as a starter, and let the child finish the thought.

Questions and answers

Why does my student write wen or win for when?

Both are honest spellings of what the child hears. Most speakers give the h no sound, and in much of the South the e sounds like i before n. On the board, write the gap row "w_en w_y w_o", where h fills every gap.

When and then look alike. How do I keep them apart?

They rhyme and differ only at the front, so let meaning sort them: when asks, then answers. Say "When do we eat? Then we eat." Write the row "when then when hen" on the board and ask for 2 circles.

Can the sight word when be sounded out?

Yes, once w-h is taught as a team that most speakers say as plain w. After it, e and n behave as they do in hen and ten. The h is the part to remember, since nobody hears it.

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