When two or more letters appear together and you hear each sound that each consonant would normally make, the combination is called a blend. For instance, the word blend has two consonant blends: bl, for which you hear the sounds for both b and l, and nd, for which you hear the sounds for both n and d.

Two-Letter Blends

• bl, which blends the /b/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /bl/ sound as in blend and blight
• br, which blends the /b/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /br/ sound as in break and brown
• cl, which blends the /c/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /cl/ sound as in cluster and class
• cr, which blends the /c/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /cr/ sound as in crash and cross
• dr, which blends the /d/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /dr/ sound as in drive and drab
• fl, which blends the /f/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /fl/ sound as in flu and flake
• fr, which blends the /f/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /fr/ sound as in freedom and frost
• gl, which blends the /g/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /gl/ sound as in glad and glory
• gr, which blends the /g/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /gr/ sound as in green and gravy
• nd, which blends the /n/ and the /d/ sounds together to make the /nd/ sound as in blend and send
• pl, which blends the /p/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /pl/ sound as in play and plow
• pr, which blends the /p/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /pr/ sound as in prime and prowl
• sl, which blends the /s/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /sl/ sound as in slogan and sloppy
• sm, which blends the /s/ and the /m/ sounds together to make the /sm/ sound as in small and smart
• sn, which blends the /s/ and the /n/ sounds together to make the /sn/ sound as in snail and snore
• sp, which blends the /s/ and the /p/ sounds together to make the /sp/ sound as in special and spackel
• st, which blends the /s/ and the /t/ sounds together to make the /st/ sound as in stop and start

Three-Letter Blends

• shr, which blends the /sh/ digraph and the /r/ sound together to make the /shr/ sound as in shroud
• spl, which blends the /sp/ blend and the /l/ sound together to make the /spl/ sound as in splash and splendid
• spr, which blends the /sp/ blend and the /r/ sound together to make the /spr/ sound as in spring and spray
• squ, which blends the /s/ sound and the /sq/ digraph together to make the /squ/ sound as in squid and squelch
• str, which blends the /st/ blend and the /r/ sound together to make the /str/ sound as in struggle and strap
• thr, which blends the /th/ digraph and the /r/ sound together to make the /thr/ sound as in throw