5-letter words with L as the 4th letter and L as the 5th letter

A double-L ending narrows the search quickly, but the first letter does most of the sorting: S starts 20 of these words. Familiar options include STILL, SMALL, SMELL and SKILL, while QUILL and QUELL stand out on a score sheet. The set also has a useful split between everyday vocabulary and less common tournament entries.

At a glance: the LL pattern

• There are 48 five-letter matches with L in both the fourth and fifth positions.
• S is the leading first letter, starting 20 words; T is next with five.
• Only 17 matches rank among the top 25,000 English words by frequency.
• QUILL, QUELL and QUOLL each score 14 points in Scrabble.
• Collins lists 48 matches, compared with 45 in NWL2023 and 41 in ENABLE.

Which starting letters appear most often?

S dominates the opening position: STILL, SMALL, SHALL, SMELL, SKILL, SHELL and SPELL show how many familiar choices share the same shape. T contributes five words, while D and K contribute four apiece. If your puzzle reveals LL at the end, testing an S-starting candidate first covers the biggest cluster.

The pattern has a sharper edge than the common examples suggest. QUILL and QUELL bring Q into a short word, and QUOLL joins them among the top scorers.

The average score is 7.9, so those 14-point Q words sit well above the set's typical value. Don't assume a rare-looking start is invalid just because STILL or CHILL comes to mind first.

How to use 5-letter words with L as the 4th and 5th letters

Twenty-five matches are in the Wordle answer list, and all 25 also appear in at least one tournament dictionary. That makes the pattern more than a word-game curiosity: once your board fixes the final LL, you still have a substantial answer set to test. Start with common candidates such as STILL, SMALL or CHILL when the opening letters fit.

Frequency is the catch: just 17 of the 48 entries are common by the frequency measure, so many candidates won't feel like everyday answers. Dictionary coverage also differs; Collins includes all 48, while NWL2023 has 45 and ENABLE has 41. Check your game's word list before relying on a less familiar entry.