leech — choose the word that rhymes with the given word below

Analyze the question: You are asked to find the word that rhymes with "leech". Rhyming words have the same ending vowel sound and final consonant sound.

Explain the concept: Rhyme depends on sound, not spelling. First, find the sound of the given word, then compare it with each option.

• "leech" is pronounced /liːtʃ/. It has a long "ee" vowel followed by the "ch" sound.

Step-by-step solution:

• A. fetch /fetʃ/. The vowel is a short "e", as in "bed". It ends in "ch", but the vowel is different, so it does not rhyme.
• B. witch /wɪtʃ/. The vowel is a short "i", as in "sit". It ends in "ch", but the vowel is different, so it does not rhyme. This is the tricky one, because "leech" and "witch" look similar.
• C. bleach /bliːtʃ/. The vowel is a long "ee" and it ends in "ch". Both the vowel and the final consonant match "leech", so it rhymes. The "ea" spelling in "bleach" makes the same sound as "ee" in "leech".
• D. lease /liːs/. The vowel is a long "ee", but it ends in an "s" sound, not "ch", so it does not rhyme. It only matches the vowel.

Answer: The correct option is C. bleach.

Tip: For rhyme questions, say each word aloud and ignore the spelling. Check two things: the vowel sound and the ending consonant sound. Both must match. Watch out for options that match only one of them, such as "witch" (same ending, different vowel) and "lease" (same vowel, different ending).