4th grade consonant-le endings (-le, -el, -al) worksheets

Fourth graders spell across all three families and know the odds: -le rules, -el and -al are learned clubs, and a handful of each covers most real writing.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core RF.3.3.b.

A new sheet every click.

Tap to see another sample sheet.

The kind of words you'll complete and sort

Fill in the missing letters to make a real word, then write the whole word in its column.

traveagroyjourntotjungnovjewapp

Columns: -le and -el and -al. Only le turns "app_" into a real word, so apple goes under -le; Only el turns "trav_" into a real word, so travel goes under -el; Only al turns "tot_" into a real word, so total goes under -al.

Every print pulls a fresh set of word lists at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling never gets the same sheet.

What's on each sheet

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Quiz in reverse: say a word, have your child pick the family BEFORE writing. Committing to -le, -el, or -al first, then checking, turns guessing into deciding.

Watch for: All three endings SOUND identical, so this is a spelling-memory sort, not a listening sort. That is exactly why the families are worth sorting: the eye must learn what the ear cannot tell. -le is the giant family (table, little, purple); -el and -al are smaller clubs. When in doubt while writing, -le is the percentage play, then check.

Common questions about consonant-le endings (-le, -el, -al)

What are the highest-value words?
The everyday writers: little, people-adjacent? No: middle, table, animal, hospital, level, travel. They appear in student writing weekly, misspelled endings and all.
What comes after this page?
The same final-syllable idea extends to -tion and -sion, which have their own page in the suffix grid. Stable endings are a family of families.

Related worksheets

Ready to print one?

Need a fresh set of questions? Download another copy.

Aligned to Common Core RF.3.3.b. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 179, updated August 2026.

Spot a mistake on this sheet? Tell us. · About these worksheets