2nd grade beginning blends (bl, cr, st) worksheets

Second graders read and spell blend words fluently and can explain the difference between a blend (two sounds, crab) and a digraph (one new sound, chip). Sorting by family keeps the patterns organized while spelling catches up with reading.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core RF.2.3.

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The kind of words you'll sort

Say each word, then write it under its blend family.

brownswingcrabsmileplusplanbringflipsmartsmellclimbfrom

Columns: l-blends and r-blends and s-blends. "climb" belongs under l-blends; "brown" belongs under r-blends; "smile" belongs under s-blends.

Every print pulls a fresh set of word lists at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling never gets the same sheet.

What's on each sheet

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Run the blend-or-digraph test on tricky starters: can you hear both letters? Crab yes, chip no. Spelling errors like "gass" for grass mean the blend needs more ear-time, not more copying. A daily ten-second hunt for blend words in any book keeps it fresh.

Watch for: A blend is not a digraph: in a blend you hear both letters (crab), in a digraph the two letters make one new sound (chip). The columns are named for the letter the family shares: bl and fl are l-blends, cr and tr are r-blends, and st and sw are s-blends.

Common questions about beginning blends (bl, cr, st)

Why isn't "sl" on this worksheet?
Because sl legitimately belongs to two families at once, it starts with s and ends with l, and a sorting page needs every word to have exactly one right column. Sl words are real and common; they just make unfair sort questions, so we leave them for reading practice instead.
My child spells "stop" as "sop." What's happening?
The second sound of the blend is getting swallowed, which is the classic blend error. Say the word in slow motion, s...t...op, and have your child tap once per sound before writing. When the ear finds both consonants, the pencil follows within a week or two.

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Aligned to Common Core RF.2.3. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 137, updated August 2026.

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