With A and E and K somewhere in the word, 229 options remain. ALIKE, ANKLE, ASKEW are the ones to try.
16 of the 229 are common enough to guess without hesitation.
Best First Guesses
Start with one of these. All three are among the 229 words below, and the number beside each is how many would still be left in the worst case.
- LAKES: takes 229 down to 60 at worst.
- MAKES: down to 69.
- BAKER: down to 71. It is on the answer list.
What These Words Have in Common
67 of them end in E, about a third of the list. The company these words keep: R (61), S (58) and L (39). Only 16 of the 229 are everyday words. The rest belong to crosswords more than to conversation, so lean on the letters above rather than on the tail of the list.
Best 5 Letter Words With A, E and K
The strongest picks, with answer-list words first.
- ALIKE
- ANKLE
- ASKEW
- AWAKE
- AWOKE
- BAKER
- BLEAK
- BRAKE
- BREAK
- CREAK
- DRAKE
- FLAKE
- FREAK
- KEBAB
- KNAVE
- KNEAD
- LEAKY
- MAKER
- OAKEN
- QUAKE
- SHAKE
- SKATE
- SNAKE
- SNEAK
- SPEAK
- STAKE
- STEAK
- TAKEN
- TAKER
- TWEAK
- WREAK
- ASKED
- CAKES
- LAKES
- MAKES
- NAKED
- TAKES
5 Letter Words With A, E and K Starting With A
- ALIKE
- ANKLE
- ASKEW
- AWAKE
- AWOKE
- ASKED
- ACKEE
- ACKER
- ACKEY
- AKEBI
- AKEES
- AKEKI
- AKELA
- AKENE
- AKKER
- AKNEE
- AKPEK
- AKSED
- AKSES
- AKULE
- ALEAK
- ALECK
- ALKES
- ALKIE
- AMOKE
- ANKEE
- ANKER
- APEAK
- APEEK
- ARAKE
- AREEK
- ARKED
- ARKIE
- ARUKE
- ASKER
- ATAKE
- ATOKE
- AVOKE
- AWEEK
5 Letter Words With A, E and K Starting With B
- BAKER
- BLEAK
- BRAKE
- BREAK
- BAKED
- BAKEN
- BAKES
- BAKIE
- BASKE
- BAWKE
- BEAKS
- BEAKY
- BEKAH
- BLAKE
5 Letter Words With A, E and K Starting With C
- CREAK
- CAKES
- CAKED
- CAKER
- CAKEY
- CHEKA
- CLAKE
- CRAKE
5 Letter Words With A, E and K Starting With F
- FLAKE
- FREAK
- FAKED
- FAKER
- FAKES
- FAKEY
- FAKIE
- FLEAK
5 Letter Words With A, E and K Starting With K
- KEBAB
- KNAVE
- KNEAD
- KABEL
- KADES
- KAIES
- KAKKE
- KALES
- KAMEL
- KAMES
- KAMME
- KANAE
- KANDE
- KANEH
- KANES
- KAPPE
- KAREE
- KAREL
- KAREN
- KAREZ
- KASER
- KASME
- KATIE
- KAVER
- KAWED
- KAYLE
- KEACH
- KEAKI
- KEARN
- KEATS
- KEAWE
- KEBAR
- KEDAR
- KEEMA
- KEENA
- KEHUA
- KEITA
- KELIA
- KELLA
- KEMAL
- KENAF
- KENAI
- KENYA
- KERAT
- KERMA
- KESAR
- KETAL
- KETAS
- KEVAN
- KHEDA
- KIOEA
- KNAPE
- KNAWE
- KOLEA
- KOREA
- KWELA
5 Letter Words With A, E and K Starting With L
- LEAKY
- LAKES
- LAKED
- LAKER
- LAKEY
- LAKIE
- LAKKE
- LATKE
- LEAKS
- LEKHA
- LEPAK
5 Letter Words With A, E and K Starting With M
- MAKER
- MAKES
- MAKEE
- MAKIE
- MAREK
- MEAKE
- MEAKS
- MEKKA
- MERAK
5 Letter Words With A, E and K Starting With P
- PEAKE
- PEAKS
- PEAKY
- PEKAN
- PEKAU
- PEKEA
- POAKE
- PREAK
5 Letter Words With A, E and K Starting With R
- RAAKE
- RADEK
- RAIKE
- RAKED
- RAKEE
- RAKER
- RAKES
- RANKE
- REAKS
- REASK
- ROAKE
5 Letter Words With A, E and K Starting With S
- SHAKE
- SKATE
- SNAKE
- SNEAK
- SPEAK
- STAKE
- STEAK
- SAKEL
- SAKER
- SAKES
- SAMEK
- SAPEK
- SEKAR
- SEVAK
- SKEAN
- SKEAR
- SKEAT
- SLAKE
- SPAKE
5 Letter Words With A, E and K Starting With W
- WREAK
- WACKE
- WAKED
- WAKEN
- WAKER
- WAKES
- WEAKY
- WEKAS
- WEKAU
5 Letter Words With A, E and K Starting With D, E, H and other letters
- DRAKE
- DAKER
- DALEK
- DANKE
- DAUKE
- EBANK
- EIMAK
- EKAHA
- EKDAM
- EKKAS
- ERIKA
- ESKAR
- HACEK
- HAKEA
- HAKES
- HALKE
- JAKER
- JAKES
- JAKEY
- JAKIE
- NAKED
- NAKER
- NERKA
- OAKEN
- OAKED
- OAKER
- QUAKE
- QUEAK
- TAKEN
- TAKER
- TWEAK
- TAKES
- TAKED
- TEAKS
- TEKYA
- UKASE
- YARKE
Less Familiar Words Here
This page carries a lot of words most players would not define. Reading them once is quicker than meeting them cold in a puzzle.
- KENAF: Fiber from an East Indian plant Hibiscus cannabinus.
- PEKAN: Large dark brown North American arboreal carnivorous mammal.
- UKASE: An edict of the Russian tsar.
- ACKEE: Red pear-shaped tropical fruit with poisonous seeds; flesh is poisonous when unripe or overripe.
- OAKEN: Consisting of or made of wood of the oak tree. It is on the answer list.
- CRAKE: Any of several short-billed Old World rails.
- SLAKE: Satisfy (thirst).
- ASKER: Someone who asks a question.
- WAKER: A person who awakes.
- WAKEN: Stop sleeping.
- PEAKY: Having or as if having especially high-pitched spots.
- KNAVE: A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel. It is on the answer list.
- JAKES: A small outbuilding with a bench having holes through which a user can defecate.
- CREAK: A squeaking sound. It is on the answer list.
FAQs
Can a Wordle answer contain A, E and K?
Yes. TAKEN, BREAK and SPEAK all sit on the Wordle answer list, so the pattern is worth playing for rather than ruling out.
Do any of these use the same letter twice?
Yes. AWAKE and KEBAB are two of them. Crossing off a letter after one grey square is the quickest way to miss an answer like these.
Is KNAWE really a word?
Yes. Widely distributed low-growing Eurasian herb having narrow leaves and inconspicuous green flowers. It is not on the Wordle answer list, so keep it for Scrabble.
Which one has the best chance of just being the answer?
TAKEN. It is the most ordinary word here that the answer list carries, so it is the guess to make when you want to win the round rather than learn from it.
Are all of these accepted as guesses?
Yes. Every word on this list is a legal guess, including the ones that look wrong. YARKE and WEKAU are among them. Only a smaller set sits on the answer list, and those are the ones marked in green.
Which of these would most players overlook?
CREAK, KNAVE and KNEAD. All three are on the answer list, and none is a word you would reach for early, so they are worth remembering once the obvious guesses run out.