3rd Grade spelling
3rd Grade Words Ending in Le
Spelling words ending in consonant plus le, such as table, little, apple and purple. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.
Read the spelling list
The pattern: Two-syllable words that end with a consonant plus le, said as a quick /ul/ (table, little).
Many two-syllable words end with a consonant followed by le, as in table, apple, bottle and purple. The ending sounds like a quick /ul/, a syllable with no clear vowel, and a spelling that has to be learned by sight. Because the sound gives no hint about the letters, students tend to write ul or el instead, spelling table as tabul.
The list gives thirty words, all checked so that the final syllable is pronounced /ul/. They include table, apple, simple, bottle, circle, cable, castle, gentle and bubble. Several have a doubled consonant before the le, such as bubble, bottle, cattle and settle, which follows the short vowel rule. Others, such as table, cable and title, have a long vowel and a single consonant. People is on the list because its ending is spelled eople, with the same /ul/ sound, though its spelling is quite unlike the others.
30 entries. Our solver needed 2.5 wrong guesses on average: 6 easy, 21 medium and 3 hard. The toughest is purple (6 misses), the quickest able (0).
- people Medium · 4
- able Easy · 0
- single Easy · 0
- couple Medium · 3
- title Medium · 3
- simple Medium · 3
- table Easy · 0
- double Medium · 3
- handle Medium · 2
- trouble Medium · 2
- apple Medium · 3
- struggle Medium · 3
- cycle Hard · 5
- bottle Medium · 3
- circle Easy · 1
- cable Easy · 1
- sample Medium · 4
- stable Medium · 2
- castle Medium · 2
- uncle Medium · 3
- muscle Hard · 5
- angle Medium · 2
- settle Medium · 3
- purple Hard · 6
- triple Easy · 1
- noble Medium · 3
- gentle Medium · 3
- bubble Medium · 2
- cattle Medium · 2
- tackle Medium · 2
Words worth a closer look
- peopleSpelled eople, not a consonant plus le. It sounds like the others, but the spelling is an exception students must memorize.
- uncleThe ncle ending is unusual, with a c pronounced as k. Students tend to write unkle.
- muscleThe c is silent. A good link to the silent letter list.
- singleSingle g before le, then the ng sound. The vowel is short even though there is no doubled consonant.
Teaching it
The le ending always forms a syllable on its own, so teach students to divide the word before the consonant: ta/ble, lit/tle, ap/ple. If the first vowel is short, the consonant is usually doubled. If it is long, it is single. This is the same short vowel rule from the double consonant list, applied again.
For hangman, give the length and the syllable count, then reveal the le at the end of the word. Players then focus on the first syllable. A useful extension is to ask students to sort the printable into doubled and single consonant words and decide whether the first vowel is long or short.
Print a 3rd Grade Words Ending in Le worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
- 3rd Grade Words With the Prefix UnSpelling words that start with the prefix un, meaning not, like unhappy, unfair, unsafe and unlucky. Play hangman or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Words With the Prefix ReSpelling words that start with the prefix re, usually meaning again, like rebuild, restart, replace and remove. Play hangman or print a worksheet.
- 3rd Grade Words With the Prefix DisSpelling words starting with the prefix dis, meaning not or the opposite of, like disagree, dislike, disappear and discount. Play hangman or print a list.
- 3rd Grade Words Ending in Ful and LessSpelling words ending in ful and less, like helpful, hopeful, careless and homeless. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Words Ending in LySpelling words ending in ly, like quickly, slowly, finally and friendly. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Words Ending in NessSpelling words ending in ness, like kindness, sadness, darkness and happiness. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.