Word family
Short e word families
The answer
Short e word families are groups of one-syllable words that share a rime with the short e sound, like -ell, -est, -end and -ent. Our lexicon has 169 public words in 23 such families of three or more words, listed family by family.
What do these families share?
Short e is the vowel students confuse most with short i, so short e families deserve slow, careful practice. Many of them end in a blend or digraph (est, ent, end, ench, elt), which makes them longer than students might expect from a short vowel family. The ell family links to the floss rule, and edge links to the dge rule, so the group also reviews spelling patterns.
The families and their words
The -est family, as in best
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| best | b + est | Lesson 18 |
| rest | r + est | Lesson 24 |
| test | t + est | Lesson 18 |
| west | w + est | Lesson 28 |
| jest | j + est | Lesson 29 |
| lest | l + est | Lesson 26 |
| nest | n + est | Lesson 18 |
| chest | ch + est | Lesson 48 |
| guest | gu + est | not taught |
| quest | qu + est | Lesson 32 |
| pest | p + est | Lesson 18 |
| vest | v + est | Lesson 33 |
| zest | z + est | Lesson 34 |
| crest | cr + est | Lesson 24 |
| wrest | wr + est | Lesson 98 |
The -ell family, as in cell
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| cell | c + ell | Lesson 117 |
| fell | f + ell | Lesson 42 |
| sell | s + ell | Lesson 42 |
| tell | t + ell | Lesson 42 |
| well | w + ell | Lesson 42 |
| shell | sh + ell | Lesson 45 |
| spell | sp + ell | Lesson 42 |
| bell | b + ell | Lesson 42 |
| smell | sm + ell | Lesson 42 |
| jell | j + ell | Lesson 42 |
| yell | y + ell | Lesson 42 |
| dwell | dw + ell | Lesson 42 |
| quell | qu + ell | Lesson 42 |
| swell | sw + ell | Lesson 42 |
The -et family, as in bet
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| bet | b + et | Lesson 18 |
| get | g + et | Lesson 18 |
| let | l + et | Lesson 26 |
| met | m + et | Lesson 18 |
| net | n + et | Lesson 18 |
| set | s + et | Lesson 18 |
| yet | y + et | Lesson 30 |
| jet | j + et | Lesson 29 |
| pet | p + et | Lesson 18 |
| vet | v + et | Lesson 33 |
| wet | w + et | Lesson 28 |
| fret | fr + et | Lesson 24 |
| whet | wh + et | Lesson 50 |
The -ed family, as in bed
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| bed | b + ed | Lesson 18 |
| fed | f + ed | Lesson 18 |
| led | l + ed | Lesson 26 |
| red | r + ed | Lesson 24 |
| wed | w + ed | Lesson 28 |
| bred | br + ed | Lesson 24 |
| shed | sh + ed | Lesson 45 |
| sped | sp + ed | Lesson 18 |
| bled | bl + ed | Lesson 26 |
| fled | fl + ed | Lesson 26 |
| sled | sl + ed | Lesson 26 |
| shred | shr + ed | Lesson 45 |
The -en family, as in men
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| men | m + en | Lesson 18 |
| pen | p + en | Lesson 18 |
| ten | t + en | Lesson 18 |
| then | th + en | Lesson 46 |
| when | wh + en | Lesson 50 |
| ken | k + en | Lesson 22 |
| wren | wr + en | Lesson 98 |
| den | d + en | Lesson 18 |
| fen | f + en | Lesson 18 |
| hen | h + en | Lesson 23 |
| yen | y + en | Lesson 30 |
| glen | gl + en | Lesson 26 |
The -ent family, as in cent
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| cent | c + ent | Lesson 117 |
| sent | s + ent | Lesson 18 |
| went | w + ent | Lesson 28 |
| spent | sp + ent | Lesson 18 |
| bent | b + ent | Lesson 18 |
| lent | l + ent | Lesson 26 |
| rent | r + ent | Lesson 24 |
| dent | d + ent | Lesson 18 |
| gent | g + ent | Lesson 117 |
| tent | t + ent | Lesson 18 |
| vent | v + ent | Lesson 33 |
| scent | sc + ent | not taught |
The -end family, as in end
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| end | (none) + end | Lesson 18 |
| lend | l + end | Lesson 26 |
| send | s + end | Lesson 18 |
| tend | t + end | Lesson 18 |
| spend | sp + end | Lesson 18 |
| bend | b + end | Lesson 18 |
| mend | m + end | Lesson 18 |
| trend | tr + end | Lesson 24 |
| fend | f + end | Lesson 18 |
| blend | bl + end | Lesson 26 |
The -elt family, as in felt
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| felt | f + elt | Lesson 26 |
| belt | b + elt | Lesson 26 |
| melt | m + elt | Lesson 26 |
| pelt | p + elt | Lesson 26 |
| welt | w + elt | Lesson 28 |
| dwelt | dw + elt | Lesson 28 |
| knelt | kn + elt | Lesson 98 |
| smelt | sm + elt | Lesson 26 |
The -ess family, as in less
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| less | l + ess | Lesson 42 |
| mess | m + ess | Lesson 42 |
| guess | gu + ess | not taught |
| press | pr + ess | Lesson 42 |
| bless | bl + ess | Lesson 42 |
| chess | ch + ess | Lesson 48 |
| dress | dr + ess | Lesson 42 |
| stress | str + ess | Lesson 42 |
The -ench family, as in french
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| french | fr + ench | Lesson 48 |
| bench | b + ench | Lesson 48 |
| clench | cl + ench | Lesson 48 |
| drench | dr + ench | Lesson 48 |
| quench | qu + ench | Lesson 48 |
| stench | st + ench | Lesson 48 |
| trench | tr + ench | Lesson 48 |
| wrench | wr + ench | Lesson 98 |
The -eck family, as in neck
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| neck | n + eck | Lesson 44 |
| check | ch + eck | Lesson 48 |
| deck | d + eck | Lesson 44 |
| wreck | wr + eck | Lesson 98 |
| peck | p + eck | Lesson 44 |
| fleck | fl + eck | Lesson 44 |
| speck | sp + eck | Lesson 44 |
The -edge family, as in edge
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| edge | (none) + edge | Lesson 70 |
| hedge | h + edge | Lesson 70 |
| ledge | l + edge | Lesson 70 |
| wedge | w + edge | Lesson 70 |
| dredge | dr + edge | Lesson 70 |
| pledge | pl + edge | Lesson 70 |
The -ept family, as in kept
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| kept | k + ept | Lesson 22 |
| slept | sl + ept | Lesson 26 |
| swept | sw + ept | Lesson 28 |
| wept | w + ept | Lesson 28 |
| crept | cr + ept | Lesson 24 |
The -em family, as in them
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| them | th + em | Lesson 46 |
| em | (none) + em | Lesson 18 |
| stem | st + em | Lesson 18 |
| gem | g + em | Lesson 117 |
| hem | h + em | Lesson 23 |
The -ence family, as in hence
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| hence | h + ence | Lesson 60 |
| fence | f + ence | Lesson 60 |
| pence | p + ence | Lesson 60 |
| whence | wh + ence | Lesson 60 |
| thence | th + ence | Lesson 60 |
The -etch family, as in fetch
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| fetch | f + etch | Lesson 69 |
| sketch | sk + etch | Lesson 69 |
| stretch | str + etch | Lesson 69 |
| etch | (none) + etch | Lesson 69 |
| wretch | wr + etch | Lesson 98 |
The -eg family, as in leg
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| leg | l + eg | Lesson 26 |
| beg | b + eg | Lesson 18 |
| keg | k + eg | Lesson 22 |
| peg | p + eg | Lesson 18 |
The -eft family, as in left
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| left | l + eft | Lesson 26 |
| theft | th + eft | Lesson 47 |
| deft | d + eft | Lesson 18 |
| cleft | cl + eft | Lesson 26 |
The -esh family, as in fresh
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| fresh | fr + esh | Lesson 45 |
| flesh | fl + esh | Lesson 45 |
| mesh | m + esh | Lesson 45 |
| thresh | thr + esh | Lesson 47 |
The -elp family, as in help
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| help | h + elp | Lesson 26 |
| kelp | k + elp | Lesson 26 |
| yelp | y + elp | Lesson 30 |
The -elf family, as in self
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| self | s + elf | Lesson 26 |
| shelf | sh + elf | Lesson 45 |
| elf | (none) + elf | Lesson 26 |
The -ense family, as in sense
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| sense | s + ense | Lesson 60 |
| dense | d + ense | Lesson 60 |
| tense | t + ense | Lesson 60 |
The -elve family, as in twelve
| Word | Onset + rime | Readable after |
|---|---|---|
| twelve | tw + elve | Lesson 60 |
| shelve | sh + elve | Lesson 60 |
| delve | d + elve | Lesson 60 |
Word ladder: change one sound at a time
Every step is a real word from the list, and each one changes exactly one sound. Say the change aloud before the student writes the new word.
| Step | Word | The change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | bed | start here |
| 2 | bet | change /d/ to /t/ |
| 3 | beg | change /t/ to /g/ |
| 4 | bell | change /g/ to /l/ |
| 5 | belt | add /t/ |
| 6 | best | change /l/ to /s/ |
| 7 | rest | change /b/ to /r/ |
| 8 | test | change /r/ to /t/ |
| 9 | west | change /t/ to /w/ |
| 10 | went | change /s/ to /n/ |
How do you teach it?
Contrast short e with short i in pairs before you start: bet and bit, pen and pin, set and sit. Then teach the families with the clearest words first (ell, est, end, ent), keeping a short i column on the side for comparison.
"Hand under your chin. Say /i/. Now say /e/. Did your chin drop a little for /e/? That's short e. Now read with me: rest, test, nest, west. Same /est/ every time."
What is the common error, and the fix?
Students read and spell short e as short i, writing "pin" for pen, especially in accents where the two vowels are close before n. The fix is the mouth: short e has a slightly lower jaw. Have students say /e/ and /i/ with a hand under the chin and feel the difference.
Sort it: a hands-on activity
Sort short e and short i cards into two columns by vowel sound, saying each word aloud with a hand under the chin. Then sort the short e pile again by family.
How this list was built
Every word comes from our lexicon of about 19,000 common words, each checked against a pronouncing dictionary and split into spelling units. Words a student meets in our assessments and progress-monitoring probes are left out, so practicing a list never rehearses a test. A family is every one-syllable base word (no suffix, not a compound) whose rime, the vowel unit and every unit after it, has the same spelling and the same sounds, so bead and bread are in different families. Ladders use only words from the list, and each step changes exactly one sound.
"Readable after" is the first lesson in the lesson sequence at which our decodability engine finds every sound-spelling in the word taught; "not taught" means the word has a spelling the sequence does not cover, so it is read with help. You can check your own lists and passages with the free decodable text checker.
Questions people ask
How many short e word families are there?
In our lexicon, 23 rimes with the short e sound have at least three public one-syllable words, 169 words in all. Smaller families exist, but two words are not enough to practice a pattern.
Why do students mix up short e and short i?
The two vowels are made with the mouth in nearly the same place, and in some accents they sound alike before n and m. Minimal pairs (pen and pin, bed and bid) help students hear and feel the difference.
Why teach word families at all?
Families let a student read many words from one chunk, which builds speed and confidence. They work best alongside sound-by-sound blending, so a student can still read a word when no family fits.