With E and L and R somewhere in the word, 288 options remain. ALERT, ALTER, BALER are the ones to try.
50 can be the answer and 26 are everyday words. Where those two overlap is where to start.
Best First Guesses
Start with one of these. All three are among the 288 words below, and the number beside each is how many would still be left in the worst case.
- LASER: takes 288 down to 48 at worst.
- LAYER: down to 48. It is on the answer list.
- LATER: down to 53. It is on the answer list.
What These Words Have in Common
The last square lands on R more than any other letter: 97 words, about a third of the set. If you need a second letter to test, A (99), I (53) and O (53) appear here more than any others. 26 of these 288 words turn up in ordinary writing. The rest are worth a read, but not worth a guess.
Best 5 Letter Words With E, L and R
The strongest picks, with answer-list words first.
- ALERT
- ALTER
- BALER
- BLARE
- BLUER
- CLEAR
- CLERK
- CRUEL
- EARLY
- ELDER
- FERAL
- FILER
- FLARE
- FLIER
- FLYER
- GLARE
- GRUEL
- IDLER
- LAGER
- LARGE
- LATER
- LAYER
- LEARN
- LEERY
- LEMUR
- LEPER
- LEVER
- LINER
- LIVER
- LOSER
- LOVER
- LOWER
- OLDER
- PALER
- PEARL
- PERIL
- PLIER
- REALM
- REBEL
- REGAL
- RELAX
- RELAY
- RELIC
- RENAL
- REPEL
- REPLY
- REVEL
- RIFLE
- RULER
- ULCER
- LASER
- ROLES
- RULED
- RULES
- TYLER
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With A
- ALERT
- ALTER
- ABLER
- ALDER
- ALLER
- ALURE
- AREAL
- AREEL
- ARGEL
- ARGLE
- ARIEL
- ARLED
- ARLES
- ARSLE
- ARTEL
- ARVEL
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With B
- BALER
- BLARE
- BLUER
- BELAR
- BERYL
- BIRLE
- BLAER
- BLEAR
- BLERE
- BLERT
- BLIER
- BLORE
- BOREL
- BRULE
- BUREL
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With C
- CLEAR
- CLERK
- CRUEL
- CARLE
- CEORL
- CERAL
- CERYL
- CLARE
- CLYER
- CREEL
- CRILE
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With E
- EARLY
- ELDER
- EARLE
- EARLS
- EELER
- ELMER
- ELRIC
- ELVER
- ENROL
- EORLS
- ERGAL
- ERVIL
- EULER
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With F
- FERAL
- FILER
- FLARE
- FLIER
- FLYER
- FARLE
- FERLY
- FLEAR
- FLEER
- FLEUR
- FLORE
- FLRIE
- FLUER
- FOREL
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With G
- GLARE
- GRUEL
- GARLE
- GERLE
- GLEIR
- GLORE
- GLUER
- GURLE
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With L
- LAGER
- LARGE
- LATER
- LAYER
- LEARN
- LEERY
- LEMUR
- LEPER
- LEVER
- LINER
- LIVER
- LOSER
- LOVER
- LOWER
- LASER
- LACER
- LADER
- LAERS
- LAKER
- LAMER
- LAREE
- LARES
- LARVE
- LAURE
- LAVER
- LAWER
- LAXER
- LEARE
- LEARS
- LEARY
- LEEAR
- LEERS
- LEGER
- LEHRS
- LEIRS
- LEORA
- LEPRA
- LEPRE
- LEPRY
- LERED
- LERES
- LEROT
- LERPS
- LERWA
- LEVIR
- LIBER
- LIBRE
- LIERS
- LIFER
- LIGER
- LIKER
- LIMER
- LITER
- LITRE
- LIVRE
- LONER
- LOPER
- LORED
- LOREL
- LOREN
- LORES
- LOURE
- LRECL
- LUCRE
- LUGER
- LURED
- LURER
- LURES
- LUREX
- LURVE
- LUSER
- LUTER
- LUXER
- LYERY
- LYRES
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With M
- MAERL
- MARLE
- MEREL
- MERIL
- MERLE
- MERLS
- MILER
- MOLER
- MOREL
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With O
- OLDER
- OGLER
- OILER
- OLLER
- ORALE
- ORIEL
- ORLES
- ORLET
- ORSEL
- OWLER
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With P
- PALER
- PEARL
- PERIL
- PLIER
- PAREL
- PARLE
- PERLA
- PERLE
- PERLS
- PILER
- PLORE
- PLYER
- POLER
- PRELA
- PROLE
- PULER
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With R
- REALM
- REBEL
- REGAL
- RELAX
- RELAY
- RELIC
- RENAL
- REPEL
- REPLY
- REVEL
- RIFLE
- RULER
- ROLES
- RULED
- RULES
- RAILE
- RALES
- RATEL
- RAVEL
- RAYLE
- REAAL
- READL
- REALO
- REALS
- RECAL
- REDLY
- REELS
- REELY
- REFEL
- REFLY
- REGEL
- REGLE
- RELAP
- RELES
- RELET
- RELIE
- RELIG
- RELIT
- RELLO
- RELOS
- RELOT
- REOIL
- REPLA
- RESOL
- RETAL
- REUEL
- RIELS
- RIGEL
- RILED
- RILES
- RILEY
- RILLE
- RIVEL
- ROBLE
- ROLEO
- ROLFE
- ROSEL
- ROULE
- ROWEL
- RUBEL
- RUBLE
- RUELY
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With S
- SCLER
- SERAL
- SILER
- SLARE
- SLEER
- SLIER
- SLUER
- SLYER
- SOLER
- SOREL
5 Letter Words With E, L and R Starting With D, H, I and other letters
- DALER
- DROLE
- DULER
- HALER
- HARLE
- HERLS
- HOLER
- IDLER
- ILLER
- JUREL
- KAREL
- KEREL
- KREIL
- NERAL
- NEROL
- QUERL
- TYLER
- TALER
- TELAR
- TILER
- ULCER
- ULLER
- UREAL
- URIEL
- URLED
- VELAR
- VILER
- WALER
- XUREL
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.
- HALER: 100 halers equal 1 koruna Slovakia.
- RATEL: Nocturnal badger-like carnivore of wooded regions of Africa and southern Asia.
- ROWEL: A small spiked wheel at the end of a spur.
- ELVER: Young eel.
- PLIER: Someone who plies a trade. It is on the answer list.
- ROBLE: Tall graceful deciduous California oak having leathery leaves and slender pointed acorns.
- PROLE: A member of the working class (not necessarily employed).
- FLEER: To smirk contemptuously.
- TILER: A worker who lays tile.
- RUBEL: The basic unit of money in Belarus.
- LUCRE: Informal terms for money.
- LIGER: Offspring of a male lion and a female tiger.
- IDLER: Person who does no work. It is on the answer list.
- VELAR: Of or relating to the velum.
FAQs
Can a Wordle answer contain E, L and R?
Yes. LATER, EARLY and LARGE have all been answers, so the pattern is worth playing for rather than ruling out.
Do any of these use the same letter twice?
Yes. REBEL and ELDER are two of them. Crossing off a letter after one grey square is the quickest way to miss an answer like these.
Is BIRLE really a word?
Yes. Cause a floating log to rotate by treading. It has never been the puzzle, so keep it for Scrabble.
Which one has the best chance of just being the answer?
LATER. It is the most ordinary word on this list that has already been the puzzle, 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. XUREL and URLED are among them. Only a smaller set has ever been the answer, and those are the ones marked in green.
Which of these would most players overlook?
BALER, BLARE and BLUER. 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.