Kindergarten · 21 words · the vowel in egg

Short e CVC words

Short e is the sound in egg, and it is a vowel many children need extra time with. The reason is simple: /e/ sits very close to /i/ and /a/, so a word like pen can sound like pin or pan to a young ear. If your child is shaky on these words, that is normal, not a sign that something is wrong.

The list below holds every short e CVC word we use, from bed and bet to wet and yes. They fall into small families too: -et (bet, get, jet, met, net, pet, set, vet, wet), -en (den, hen, pen, ten) and -ed (bed, fed, red). That is a good number to work with, because the -et family alone gives you plenty of rhymes.

All 21 short e CVC words, A to Z

  • bed
  • bet
  • den
  • fed
  • gem
  • get
  • hen
  • jet
  • leg
  • met
  • net
  • peg
  • pen
  • pet
  • red
  • set
  • ten
  • vet
  • web
  • wet
  • yes

Printable word list and practice sheet (PDF) — page 1 is the 21 words; page 2 has, for each word, three boxes for its sounds and a line to write it. Free to print, no sign-up.

About the short e sound

To say the short e sound, /e/, let your mouth open about halfway and relax your tongue. It is the sound in the middle of egg, and the sound at the start of the word end. Many children find it helpful to say "egg" and then stop after the first sound.

Some regional accents blend short e and short i before the letters m and n, so that pen and pin sound the same. If you speak that way, you are not teaching it wrong. Lean on the spelling instead: the letter e goes in pen and the letter i goes in pin, and children can learn that the written words stay different.

Mix-ups to expect

  • Short e and short i, as in pen and pin or ten and tin. Say both slowly, and show that your mouth is more open for e than for i.
  • Hen and then. Children sometimes add a sound they hear in a longer word they know. Point at the three letters and say that there are exactly three sounds.
  • Yes begins with the letter y, which is a consonant at the front of a word. It is a good one to add once your child is steady, because it does not look like the other words in the list.

How to practice at home

  • Hold up an egg shape in your fist when you say the sound, so it has a picture attached. Children remember the sound by the picture.
  • Play the pen and pin game: say a word and have your child point to the right written word. Switch roles, and make a mistake on purpose so they can catch you.
  • Rhyme out loud before reading: "What rhymes with net?" Then read the words from the -et family together.
  • Write the words large on a whiteboard or paper and have your child circle the middle letter. Everyone will see the same e in every word.
  • Read a short sentence that uses several, such as "The vet met a wet hen." It is silly, and silly helps.

A word ladder

This ladder keeps the vowel the same and changes one consonant at a time:

hen → pen → pet → net → get → gem

These are Tutorsaurus’s own lists, built from the words in our reading and spelling practice plus a few common additions. They are not an official list, and your child’s school may use different words.

More CVC word lists