CH Words – Printable Word Lists, Pictures & Activities
The different sounds of CH
The CH digraph usually makes the /ch/ sound, as in children, cherry, and peach. This is the sound most learners encounter first when studying phonics and early reading. However, there are some important exceptions that English learners should be aware of. They need to be able to identify the correct sounds and pronounce words correctly. Other sounds CH makes are as follows –
/k/ words such as – choir, Christmas, and chemist.
/sh/ or /ʃ/ words such as – chef, moustache, and machine. (Note that many of these words came to English from the French language)
There are also some very rare exceptions in which CH is silent, the word yacht is an example.
It is important to note that on this page, we are purely focusing on the /ch/ phoneme, the CH sound in cheese. This can also be shown with the phonetic symbol /tʃ/.
The free printable lists below contain CH words that have been divided into words with the /ch/ sound in the initial, medial, and final positions. That is, words with CH at the beginning, middle, and end. This is not only for ease of use but to help teachers and instructors create targeted reading, spelling, and pronunciation activities in the classroom.
Initial CH words list
First up, we have a list of words with the CH sound in the initial position or words that start with CH. There are 100 words in this list.
You can either choose to download the free PDF files or just copy and paste the words that you like from the lists on this page.
cello
chafe
chaff
chain
chainsaw
chair
chairlift
chairman
chalice
chalk
challenge
chamber
champ
champion
chance
change
channel
chant
chap
chapel
chapter
char
charcoal
charge
charity
charm
chart
charter
chase
chat
chatterbox
cheap
cheapskate
cheat
check
checkers
checkout
checkup
cheek
cheekbone
cheep
cheer
cheese
cheeseburger
cheetah
cheque
cherish
cherry
cherub
chess
chest
chestnut
chew
chick
chicken
chickpea
chickweed
chicory
chief
child
children
Chile
chili
chill
chime
chimera
chimney
chimp
chimpanzee
chin
China
chipboard
chipmunk
chipotle
chips
chirp
chisel
chitchat
chives
chocolate
choice
choke
chomp
choose
chop
choppy
chopstick
chore
chorizo
chow
chowder
chubby
chuck
chuckle
chug
chum
chunk
church
churchyard
churn
Medial CH words list
In this list, our target sound is in the medial position. This just means that CH is in the middle of the word, not at the beginning or end.
With these medial words, you will notice some different spelling patterns that still give us a /ch/ sound. These include mostly more complex vocabulary for advanced English learners. Some examples of this are –
TIO – Examples – question and digestion.
TURE – Examples – vulture, fixture, and fluctuate.
achieved
adventure
agriculture
amateur
archer
archway
armchair
artichoke
attachment
avalanche
biochip
bleachers
butcher
caricature
catcher
congestion
creature
crunchy
crutches
culture
departure
digestion
duchess
enchilada
etching
exchange
factual
feature
fetching
fixture
fluctuate
fracture
furniture
gesture
gotcha
grandchild
hatchery
hatchet
hatching
henchman
highchair
inches
itching
ketchup
keychain
kitchen
lecture
linchpin
literature
lunchbox
luncheon
lunchroom
manufacture
marching
mariachi
matches
matchup
mature
merchant
miniature
mischief
mixture
nachos
natural
pasture
patchwork
paycheck
peaches
penchant
picture
pitcher
posture
preacher
punctuate
purchase
question
rapture
ratchet
rematches
riches
sandwiches
satchel
scripture
signature
statue
stitches
structure
teacher
temperature
texture
touchdown
touchscreen
touchy
venture
voucher
vulture
watchdog
watcher
witches
wretched
Final CH words list
Our last list has words ending in CH, this is called the final position.
approach
beach
batch
belch
bench
bewitch
birch
blotch
blowtorch
branch
broach
brunch
bullfinch
bunch
catch
church
clench
coach
cornstarch
couch
crouch
crunch
dispatch
ditch
drench
Dutch
each
finch
French
frogmarch
Grinch
grouch
hatch
hitch
hopscotch
hunch
hutch
inch
itch
latch
launch
leech
lunch
lurch
march
match
mooch
much
mulch
notch
ostrich
ouch
overwatch
pitch
perch
pinch
pitch
poach
pooch
porch
pouch
preach
punch
ranch
reach
rich
roach
Sasquatch
scorch
scotch
screech
scrunch
search
sketch
slouch
smooch
snatch
snitch
speech
spinach
splotch
squelch
starch
stench
stretch
such
switch
thatch
torch
touch
trench
vouch
watch
which
winch
witch
workbench
wrench
wristwatch
zilch
Practice sentences with CH words
Here are some simple sentences to practice the target sound in its various positions.
I walked on the beach.
She likes to eat cheese.
He can play chess.
A cheetah is very fast.
There are many children at the church.
She can’t reach her watch.
Can you catch a chicken?
With more advanced learners, you can also try these fun tongue twisters with CH words.
Chad chomped on chips and cheese at church.
A lunchbox of French spinach sandwiches.
A batch of cheap Dutch chocolate.
Eating chunky, crunchy nachos on a beach bench.
My rich cello teacher purchased a wristwatch.
Chester chooses chestnuts, cheddar cheese with chewy chives. He chews them, and he chooses them. He chooses them, and he chews them. Those chestnuts, cheddar cheese, and chives in cheery, charming chunks.
CH words with pictures
Next, we have 48 CH words with pictures. They contain basic vocabulary that many children will be aware of. They are engaging with their colourful visuals, which help learners maintain attention and learn effectively. These flashcards are designed to print and cut to be used for many learning activities, not just pronunciation exercises. They can also help learners with spelling and learning new vocabulary.
The Ch sound words provided here on these picture and word cards are –
Initial position – chainsaw, chair, cheese, cheetah, cherries, chess, chestnuts, chick, children, chili, chimes, chimney, chimpanzee, chips, chopsticks, and church.
Medial position – archer, archway, artichoke, butcher, crutches, furniture, ketchup, kitchen, lunchbox, marching, matches, nachos, peaches, statue, teacher, and vulture.
Final position – beach, branch, bunch, catch, hopscotch, itch, ostrich, punch, reach, rich, sketch, spinach, switch, torch, watch, and wrench.
Ideas for using the CH words with pictures
There are plenty of activities you can do with these picture and word flashcards. Here are a few ideas –
Picture and word matching. Cut the words off the bottom of the pictures and ask learners to match them correctly. This helps students learn new words.
Spelling Bee. For younger students, you can play a spelling bee game. Ask a student to come to the front to be challenged. Another student is to pick a card at random and see if they can spell it. If they are successful, they move on to the next round. Continue until there is only one player left…the winner!
Sorting. Print and shuffle the cards before asking learners to sort the cards into initial, medial, and final CH sound word groups.
Sentence building. Choose a suitable card that has a /ch/ word that students are familiar with and let them make a sentence or two containing the word.
Tongue twisters. Provide students with several cards which they can use as prompts to create their own funny tongue twisters.
Related activities
Have a look at the digraph coloring pages that also has a CH words coloring sheet for kids.
For a closely related activity, have a look at the SH and CH minimal pairs page. Here you will find more word lists and flashcards that you can use to practice these contrasting sounds.
