Digraph Worksheets: Sort sh, ch and th Words

Sort fifteen words under sh, ch and th, or pick one digraph in Word list.

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Made at homeroomtools.comWord boxSort the words of the word box. Write each word under its heading.Spelling: sort by listList 1: sh at the startList 2: ch at the startList 3: th at the startchampshellthanthudshrugchimpthinchinthornshedthischopchugshopshin
Made at homeroomtools.comSort the words of the word box. Write each word under its heading.Spelling: sort by listAnswer keyList 1: sh at the startList 2: ch at the startList 3: th at the startshellshrugshedshinshopchugchimpchampchinchopthanthinthudthornthis
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15 words from 3 lists, sort by list, on 1 page and 1 page of answers, Letter portrait.

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The spelling lists

List 1: sh at the start 8

  • shed Shed starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • shelf Shelf starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • shell Shell starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • shin Shin starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • ship Ship starts with sh: two letters, one sound. Leave out the h and it turns into sip.
  • shop Shop starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • shot Shot starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • shrug Shrug starts with sh: two letters, one sound.

List 2: ch at the start 8

  • champ Champ starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • chest Chest starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • chill Chill starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • chimp Chimp starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • chin Chin starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • chip Chip starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • chop Chop starts with ch: two letters, one sound. Leave out the h and it turns into cop.
  • chug Chug starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
Show all 88 words (72 more)

List 3: th at the start 8

  • than Than starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th buzzes, with the voice on. Leave out the h and it turns into tan.
  • that That starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th buzzes, with the voice on.
  • then Then starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th buzzes, with the voice on. Leave out the h and it turns into ten.
  • thin Thin starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz. Leave out the h and it turns into tin.
  • this This starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th buzzes, with the voice on.
  • thorn Thorn starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.
  • thud Thud starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.
  • thump Thump starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.

List 4: wh at the start 8

  • whale Whale starts with wh: two letters, and the sound is w.
  • wheat Wheat starts with wh: two letters, and the sound is w.
  • wheel Wheel starts with wh: two letters, and the sound is w.
  • when When starts with wh: two letters, and the sound is w.
  • whip Whip starts with wh: two letters, and the sound is w.
  • whisk Whisk starts with wh: two letters, and the sound is w.
  • white White starts with wh: two letters, and the sound is w.
  • whiz Whiz starts with wh: two letters, and the sound is w.

List 5: sh at the end 8

  • brush Brush ends with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • crash Crash ends with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • dish Dish ends with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • fish Fish ends with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • fresh Fresh ends with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • gush Gush ends with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • mash Mash ends with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • wish Wish ends with sh: two letters, one sound.

List 6: ch at the end 8

  • beach Beach ends with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • lunch Lunch ends with ch: two letters, one sound. The n comes before the ch.
  • much Much ends with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • munch Munch ends with ch: two letters, one sound. The n comes before the ch.
  • pinch Pinch ends with ch: two letters, one sound. The n comes before the ch.
  • ranch Ranch ends with ch: two letters, one sound. The n comes before the ch.
  • rich Rich ends with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • such Such ends with ch: two letters, one sound.

List 7: th at the end 8

  • bath Bath ends with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz. Leave out the h and it turns into bat.
  • both Both ends with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.
  • cloth Cloth ends with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.
  • fifth Fifth ends with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.
  • math Math ends with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz. Leave out the h and it turns into mat.
  • path Path ends with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz. Leave out the h and it turns into pat.
  • tooth Tooth ends with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.
  • with With ends with th: two letters, one sound. Leave out the h and it turns into wit.

List 8: ph says f 8

  • alphabet Alphabet has ph, two letters that say f in the middle.
  • earphone Earphone has ph, two letters that say f in the middle.
  • gopher Gopher has ph, two letters that say f in the middle.
  • graph Graph ends with ph, two letters that say f.
  • phase Phase starts with ph, two letters that say f.
  • phone Phone starts with ph, two letters that say f.
  • sphere Sphere has ph, two letters that say f in the middle.
  • telephone Telephone has ph, two letters that say f in the middle.

List 9: sh, longer words 8

  • shake Shake starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • shark Shark starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • shave Shave starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • sheep Sheep starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • shine Shine starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • shirt Shirt starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • short Short starts with sh: two letters, one sound.
  • shout Shout starts with sh: two letters, one sound.

List 10: ch, longer words 8

  • chain Chain starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • chair Chair starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • chalk Chalk starts with ch: two letters, one sound. The l is silent.
  • chase Chase starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • cheek Cheek starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • cheese Cheese starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • child Child starts with ch: two letters, one sound.
  • chore Chore starts with ch: two letters, one sound.

List 11: th, longer words 8

  • thief Thief starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.
  • think Think starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.
  • third Third starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.
  • thirst Thirst starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.
  • three Three starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.
  • throw Throw starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.
  • thumb Thumb starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz. The b at the end is silent.
  • thunder Thunder starts with th: two letters, one sound. This th is whispered, with no buzz.

How this list was compiled: Our own selection and grouping of 88 English words, with our own hints: sh, ch, th and wh at the start of a word, sh, ch and th at the end, ph in any place, and three lists of longer words. Every word holds one of those digraphs once and none of the others. The letters left out of each word are its digraph. Every word was checked by script on 2026-10-01 in two places: the Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary, a record of General American pronunciation (https://github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict), where the sound at that end of the word must be the digraph's own in every listed pronunciation (ch as in chin, never as in school or chef; wh as in when, never as in who; ph as f); and the word's own entry at https://en.wiktionary.org/, where the pronunciation line must show the same consonant. A hint that calls a th whispered or buzzing repeats the sound that dictionary gives (its TH or its DH); with has both, so its hint says neither. That a consonant digraph is two letters for one sound, with ch, ph, sh and th the most common, was read on 2026-10-01 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonics; that wh is now most commonly said as w, and as h in who, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8wh%E2%9F%A9. Spellings are American. No published word list or reading programme was copied. Licence: own work

How it works

These consonant digraphs worksheets open on a sort: fifteen words to write under sh, ch and th. Word list also has wh and ph, the same digraphs at the end of a word, and longer words.

Read the full guide

Sort by digraph

A sorting sheet takes five words from the list on show and five from each of the two lists after it. From List 1 that is sh, ch and th at the start: ship, chin, thin. From List 5 it is the same three at the end: fish, lunch, bath. For digraph worksheets for kindergarten, stay with Lists 1 to 3, where most words have three sounds.

Write the missing digraph

Choose Missing letters under What goes on the sheet. Each word prints with its two letters left out, __ip for ship, under a box of the list's eight words. No blank fits two words of a list.

  • For ch worksheets alone, pick List 2 or List 6 and Missing letters. List 1 or List 5 makes an sh worksheet.
  • The answer key prints as the last page. To leave it off, open More options and untick Add an answer key as the last page.
  • Every word has a hint under the tool: leave the h out of then and it turns into ten.

Questions and answers

What is a consonant digraph?

Two letters that stand for one consonant sound. The most common are ch, ph, sh and th. In ship the s and the h are not said one after the other: together they spell one new sound.

Are there th digraph worksheets?

Yes. List 3 has th at the start, List 7 th at the end and List 11 longer th words. Th has two sounds: whispered in thin and bath, buzzing in this and then. The hints under the tool say which.

Is wh a digraph?

Yes: two letters, one sound. In most accents today wh is said as w, so when starts like wet. List 4 holds eight wh words. Who is left out, because there the wh is said as h.

Do the digraph worksheets print with answers?

Five of the seven sheets do: Sort by list, Missing letters, Word shapes, Unscramble and ABC order. The key is the last page of the print. Trace and write and Write a sentence have nothing to mark, so they print no key.

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