Starting
Snail.
The word is empty. If you take away the first, last and middle letter the word sounds like mpty, empt and emty.
It's actually not the first letter, it's the first sound. For example tired and third, they both start with the same letter, but have a completely different sound. When they have the same sound, this is called alliteration.
Ghoul, Stool and Jewel.
Whole
Here's an example of a five letter word which reads the same when the first and last letters are dropped: gnome and nom (as in 'nom de plume')
snail
empty
toot
array
The rhyming words are fight, light, might, night, right, sight, tight, and with the same spelling white, write, trite, smite, and quite. The long I sound also appears in words such as fried, guide, pride, style, trial, child, and many other 5-letter words.
hears, ear