Spelling list: ll words

Towards the end of a word, it's sometimes necessary to repeat a consonant when there's a short vowel sound. This occurs in spelling when the short vowel sound is followed by specific letters: f, s, and l.

In the words listed here, the l is doubled after the short vowel sound.

Consider the word bell which contains a short /e/ sound and concludes with an l sound. This mandates the usage of a double l in its spelling.

Similarly, in the word fill, there's a short /i/ sound before the l sound, which indicates the need for a double l as well.

Say these ll words aloud as you learn them. Can you hear the short vowel sound?

bell	I attached a new bell to my bicycle. *
fell	I grazed my knuckles when I fell off my bike.
sell	Jack had to sell the cow. *
smell	Can you smell burning?
tell	The child refused to tell the truth.
well	She looks fit and well.
fill	Fill the bath with hot water.
kill	Cats often kill birds.
still	He's over 90 but his mind is still sharp.
will	I will miss you when you go away.
doll	Jill gave her sister a doll on her birthday.
bull	A male elephant is called a bull.
pull	The sign on the door said pull.
ball	Roll the ball to me.
call	Please wait while I make a call.
fall	I don't want to fall off my bike.
hall	We have a large mirror in our hall.
small	There was a small puff of smoke from the fire.
tall	The giraffe was very tall. *
wall	Don't kick that ball over my wall.