6-letter words with A as the 3rd letter and L as the 4th letter

The pattern is _ _ A L _ _: A and L are fixed, leaving the first two and last two slots to solve. Twenty matches rank among common English words, while 119 have definitions. That mix makes this a practical clue list, but the full set also includes less familiar tournament entries.

6-letter words with A as the 3rd letter and L as the 4th letter

• There are 145 tournament-dictionary matches for the _ _ A L _ _ pattern.
• S is the leading first letter: 46 words begin with S, compared with 12 beginning with C.
• S is also the most common final letter, appearing at the end of 45 matches.
• The common-word group has 20 entries; REALLY, HEALTH and WEALTH are recognizable examples.
• QUALMY tops the score list at 20 points, ahead of CHALKY at 18.

Which words fit, and how should you narrow the list?

Start with the last two letters you already know. Words such as SEALED, SCALES and STALLS end in different pairs, even though each keeps A and L in the middle. That gives you a quick way to sort possibilities without changing the fixed slots.

The opening letter gives another useful split. S accounts for 46 matches, far more than C at 12; D and R each contribute 8. If your rack or crossing letters rule out S, check those smaller groups before scanning the entire set.

The dictionary totals are not interchangeable: Collins has 145 matches, NWL2023 has 103, and ENABLE has 100. The 145-word count combines tournament dictionaries, so a word in the combined set is not automatically accepted in every game.

For points, QUALMY leads at 20, while CHALKY scores 18 and QUALMS scores 17. Those standouts are less everyday than REALLY or HEALTH, so check your rack and board before choosing a high-value play.

What is the easy pattern detail to miss?