175+ Closed Syllable Words for Kids (Printable Lists & Activities)
Teaching kids about closed syllables can improve decoding and reading skills. Use these tips, activities, and printable word lists to support their learning!
What Are Closed Syllables?
A closed syllable is a syllable in which a single vowel is followed by one or more consonants. In a closed syllable, the vowel typically makes a short sound. An open syllable ends in a vowel (no consonant at the end).
Examples of Closed Syllable Words:
Cat: The vowel A is followed by the consonant T, making it a closed syllable.
Rabbit: The first syllable, “rab”, is closed because the vowel A is followed by the consonant B.
Picnic: Both syllables, “pic” and “nic,” are closed because the vowels are followed by consonants.
Why Are Closed Syllables Words Important?
Closed syllables are important for early reading and spelling because they help children understand and predict vowel sounds, which supports their decoding skills. As children become more confident in their ability to sound out new words, they can shift their efforts to other aspects of reading, such as comprehension.
Learn more about open and closed syllables here, as well how to teach them and engaging activities to help support learning them.
Tips for Teaching Closed Syllables:
Keep these guidelines in mind when working on closed syllables with children:
- Closed syllable words can contain anywhere from two (in) to seven letters (stretch).
- The vowel in a closed syllable likely stands for the short vowel sound.
- CVC words, or consonant-vowel-consonant words, are examples of closed syllables and are typically the first words children learn. Since CVC words go hand-in-hand with closed syllables, it’s a great opportunity to teach this concept and the short vowel sound. Once your child has a solid understanding of closed syllable words, you can move on to open syllable words.
- As you work through this list with your child, start by asking them to identify the vowel and consonant sounds, helping them to learn the pattern of vowel + consonant = closed syllable and a short vowel sound.
Closed syllable words do have exceptions. For example, in the words ball and hall, children will hear the /aw/ sound rather than the short /ǎ/ sound, which can happen when a vowel comes before the letter L.
Here are a few more examples of exceptions to the closed syllable rules:
- Words that end in -ld (like child), can cause the vowel to make a long sound.
- Words that end in -ind (like mind), can cause the vowel to make a long sound.
List of Closed Syllable Words with One Syllable
Please Note: Some of these words also feature more challenging phonics concepts, such as digraphs and vowel teams. Use the words that are best suited to your child’s learning level.
- ad
- as
- back
- bat
- bed
- bid
- blank
- box
- branch
- bread
- brisk
- brush
- buck
- bug
- bun
- bus
- cap
- cat
- chat
- chest
- clamp
- cliff
- clip
- clock
- crunch
- cup
- cut
- dad
- damp
- deck
- desk
- dish
- dog
- dot
- duck
- dug
- fed
- fib
- frog
- fun
- gap
- glimpse
- glint
- got
- grass
- gum
- hen
- hit
- husk
- if
- in
- is
- it
- jig
- job
- jolt
- lap
- lunch
- mash
- mask
- men
- milk
- mom
- mop
- mud
- mug
- munch
- neck
- net
- nut
- odd
- on
- pat
- peck
- pig
- plump
- pod
- pond
- pop
- pug
- rat
- red
- rid
- rock
- rug
- rush
- sculpt
- set
- shelf
- ship
- shop
- six
- skid
- skin
- stamp
- stop
- storm
- sun
- tap
- ten
- tent
- that
- this
- tin
- top
- tract
- trip
- tub
- tug
- tusk
- vet
- wed
- wet
- win
- with
List of Closed Syllable Words with Two Syllables
Tip: Many of the words on this list follow the VCCV pattern, or vowel-consonant/consonant-vowel and include two closed syllables. Say each syllable separately to help your child hear the closed vowel sound.
- address – ad-dress
- anklet – an-klet
- backpack – back-pack
- basket – bas-ket
- blacksmith – black-smith
- blacktop – black-top
- blanket – blan-ket
- bobcat – bob-cat
- bonnet – bon-net
- bookshelf – book-shelf
- button – but-ton
- cactus – cac-tus
- cannot – can-not
- carpet – car-pet
- catfish – cat-fish
- chapter – chap-ter
- chestnut – chest-nut
- classic – clas-sic
- comet – co-met
- compass – com-pass
- complex – com-plex
- dentist – den-tist
- flipflop – flip-flop
- footprint – foot-print
- fossil – fos-sil
- frantic – fran-tic
- gossip – gos-sip
- handle – han-dle
- handstand – hand-stand
- happen – hap-pen
- herself – her-self
- hiccup – hic-cup
- himself – him-self
- hundred – hun-dred
- husky – hus-ky
- impress – im-press
- insect – in-sect
- lantern – lan-tern
- magnet – mag-net
- mascot – mas-cot
- mitten – mit-ten
- muffin – muf-fin
- napkin – nap-kin
- picnic – pic-nic
- pigpen – pig-pen
- pillow – pil-low
- possum – pos-sum
- public – pub-lic
- pumpkin – pump-kin
- rabbit – rab-bit
- rustic – rus-tic
- submit – sub-mit
- sudden – sud-den
- sunfish – sun-fish
- sunhat – sun-hat
- sunset – sun-set
- suntan – sun-tan
- tablet – tab-let
- tantrum – tan-trum
- tennis – ten-nis
- thunder – thun-der
- tinsel – tin-sel
- tonsil – ton-sil
- touchdown – touch-down
- traffic – traf-fic
- trashcan – trash-can
- upset – up-set
- velvet – vel-vet
- window – win-dow
List of Open Syllable Words with Three Syllables
Tip: In the words below, each syllable is not necessarily a closed syllable. Work with your child to identify which syllables in each word are closed.
- basketball – bas-ket-ball
- celebrate – cel-e-brate
- difficult – dif-fi-cult
- elephant – el-e-phant
- enterprise – en-ter-prise
- happiness – hap-pi-ness
- imagine – im-ag-ine
- kangaroo – kan-ga-roo
- multiply – mul-ti-ply
- orchestra – or-ches-tra
- tambourine – tam-bour-ine
- understand – un-der-stand
List of Open Syllable Words with Four or More Syllables
- environment – en-vi-ron-ment
- information – in-for-ma-tion
- insignificant – in-sig-nif-i-cant
- investigate – in-ves-ti-gate
- refrigerator – re-frig-er-ate
- transportation – trans-por-ta-tion
- unfortunate – un-for-tu-nate
Activities for Teaching Closed Syllable Words
Closed Syllable Drawing
Using the list of words above, ask children to draw pictures of objects that have names with closed syllables (cat, dog, hat). Continue this practice with our word lists for one syllable words, identifying those that are closed syllables and then drawing pictures of a few of them.
Syllable Sorting Game
Write words on cards, mixing open syllables (go, me) and closed syllables (cat, sun). Have the child sort the cards into two groups: open syllables and closed syllables. Encourage them to say each word out loud and listen for the vowel sound to help them decide.
Build-a-Word Challenge
Provide children with letter tiles or magnetic letters. Challenge them to create as many closed syllable words as possible (mat, sip, clam), using words from the list above as prompts when needed.
ABCmouse Online Syllable Games
Our online games are designed by experts to make screen time educational and enjoyable. Please note that some of these games may require an ABCmouse subscription to play.
Assemble words (many with open syllables) to equip Prospector Paul with the supplies he needs.
Count the syllables as Granny Franny says each word and select the correct option.
Free Printable Syllable Worksheets
These printables are perfect for kindergarten and first-grade practice, with matching activities, crosswords, fill-in-the-blank exercises, and more.
Sing Along with the ABCmouse Syllable Song
Sing and dance with the ABCmouse Syllable Song to practice breaking words apart into syllables and identifying if they’re open or closed.
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