6-letter words with T as the 2nd letter and L as the 6th letter

The fixed pattern is _T___L, and just 13 tournament-dictionary entries fit. Seven begin with S and six with A, with no other starting letter in play. That narrow split gives you a practical shortcut when a crossing letter reveals the first tile.

A quick read on this letter pattern

• There are 13 qualifying six-letter words.
• Every match ends in L; seven start with S and six with A.
• Only one entry ranks among the top 25,000 English words by frequency.
• Collins lists 13 matches, compared with 11 in NWL2023 and 10 in ENABLE.
• The average score is 7 points, while ATOKAL leads at 10.

Why does this pattern have so few words?

T in the second slot plus final L produces only 13 matches. Keep T fixed and switch the last letter to S, and the related pattern has 167 entries instead. That sharp contrast makes the final letter the real bottleneck.

The starting letters divide neatly: STROLL, STEROL, and other S-words make up seven matches; ATRIAL and ATONAL are among the six beginning with A. Once your puzzle supplies its first letter, you can ignore the other half of the group.

Familiarity is another constraint: just one match reaches the top-25,000 frequency cutoff. STROLL is the everyday standout, while several alternatives are specialized or obscure. A pattern match is not a guarantee of acceptance, so check your game's dictionary when an unfamiliar word decides the play.

Which of these six-letter words scores most?

ATOKAL takes the lead with 10 points, ahead of ATWEEL at 9. ATABAL, STIPEL, and STOMAL are tied at 8, giving you three choices when the top scorer cannot fit your board.

The recognizable options earn less: STROLL, ATRIAL, ATONAL, and STEROL each score 6. So the scoring leader is a less familiar word, while the names most likely to come to mind share a lower score. Compare the remaining rack letters before choosing between value and fit.