Word Lists · H + L
5 Letter Words With H and L
Every five-letter word that contains both H and L, in any position — answer-eligible words flagged in green, tap any word to play.
How Many 5-Letter Words Have H and L?
The board narrows to 188 words once H and L are both confirmed present — 60 of them live in the answer pool. Play LATHE next and you clear about 96.1% of what is left.
There is a mild lean but no rule. H shows up most in the 2nd slot (41%) and L in the 4th (31%); CHALK, CHILD, CHILI match the first pattern. Use it as a tiebreaker, not a plan.
The two letters touch more often than you would expect: 8 of the 188 words run them together. That adjacency is a cheap thing to test once either letter is locked.
Green-dotted words are answer-eligible — the everyday vocabulary the daily puzzle actually draws from — while hollow-dotted words are valid guesses you can play but that will never be the solution. Flip on Answers only to focus on the 60 words that can truly win the board.
Best Wordle Words With H and L
When H and L are both in play, the strongest guess keeps them and rules out as many remaining answers as possible. These three score highest across all 2296 possible answers:
- 01 LATHE — eliminates about 96.1% of remaining answers on average.
- 02 SHALE — eliminates about 96.1% of remaining answers on average.
- 03 LEASH — eliminates about 95.7% of remaining answers on average.
The Full List, Grouped by First Letter
The words cluster around L, S, C at the front — together 54% of the 188 entries, with the other 18 opening letters splitting the remainder.
H/L Words That Have Been Wordle Answers
Across 1916 puzzles this shape has supplied 49 answers, from BLUSH (#5) through to SLUSH (#1869, 2026-08-01). ALOHA (#1862), SHILL (#1858), CHILI (#1808) landed in between. Still unused: 13 answer-eligible words.
| Puzzle | Date | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| #1869 | 2026-08-01 | SLUSH |
| #1862 | 2026-07-25 | ALOHA |
| #1858 | 2026-07-21 | SHILL |
| #1808 | 2026-06-01 | CHILI |
| #1794 | 2026-05-18 | LOATH |
| #1781 | 2026-05-05 | LATCH |
| #1725 | 2026-03-10 | SHOAL |
| #1626 | 2025-12-01 | LEACH |
| #1621 | 2025-11-26 | HOVEL |
| #1594 | 2025-10-30 | LATHE |
| #1592 | 2025-10-28 | HOLLY |
| #1499 | 2025-07-27 | WHOLE |
Never used as an answer
13 answer-eligible H/L words have never been the solution: FILTH, FLUSH, GULCH, HOTLY, LURCH, LYMPH, LYNCH, PLUSH, RALPH, SHALE, SHALT, SLASH, WELCH . Wordle avoided repeats entirely for its first 1,688 puzzles and only began reusing old answers in February 2026 — 24 times so far. An unused word is still the likelier bet, just no longer a certainty; see how repeats work for the full picture.
The other 128 words on this list are valid guesses the game accepts but never chooses as a solution. They still make useful probes for placing H and L, but when you guess to win, a green-dotted answer word is the smarter pick.
Where H and L Land in 5-Letter Words
The whole puzzle now is placement, so here is exactly where each letter tends to sit across the 188 words. Try the busiest square first.
| Position | Words with H here | Words with L here |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 9 | 47 |
| 2nd | 77 | 26 |
| 3rd | 14 | 29 |
| 4th | 21 | 58 |
| 5th | 67 | 39 |
Play a candidate that seats each letter in its busiest square and one of two good things happens: a tile turns green and you have locked a position, or it turns yellow again and you have eliminated the single most likely slot in one move.
How to Use These Words to Win Wordle
- Lead with the busiest square. H in slot 2 covers 77 of these 188 words and L in slot 4 covers 58 — try that shape before rarer placements.
- Favor distinct letters early. 151 of the 188 words here use five different letters and 37 repeat one.
- Then check for repeats. Watch for repeats: 11 words on this list use H or L twice (CHILL, HELLO, HILLY, HOLLY). A single yellow tile does not rule out a second copy of the same letter.
- Lean toward an unused word. Repeats stayed at zero until February 2026 and number just 24 in 1916 puzzles, so the 13 never-used H/L words above remain the stronger bet.
Full strategy lives in the how-to-play guide, and you can practice any time on the unlimited Wordle board.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many 5-letter words have H and L?
There are 188 valid five-letter words that contain both H and L in any position, and 60 of them can be a Wordle answer. Turn on "Answers only" above to narrow the list to answer-eligible words.
What is the best word to guess with H and L confirmed?
LATHE — it keeps both letters and still eliminates about 96.1% of the remaining answer pool. LATHE, SHALE, LEASH are the top three by that measure. See more best Wordle starting words.
Where do H and L usually sit in these words?
H most often lands in the 2nd position (77 of 188 words) and L in the 4th (58). Neither is dominant, so treat it as a tiebreaker rather than a rule.
Which H/L words have been Wordle answers?
49 of them, out of 1916 puzzles so far. The most recent was SLUSH (#1869) on 2026-08-01, and the first was BLUSH on 2021-06-24. 13 answer-eligible words have never been used, including FILTH, FLUSH, GULCH, HOTLY. Browse the full past Wordle answers archive.
Do these words work in hard mode?
Yes. Once H and L show as present you must reuse them, so this is exactly your hard-mode candidate set. 151 of the 188 words use five distinct letters and 37 repeat one, which matters because hard mode will not let you drop a confirmed letter to test elsewhere — see the how-to-play guide.
Are there 5-letter words with H and L next to each other?
8 of the 188 words place H and L in neighbouring squares: BUHLS, DAHLS, KOHLS, MUHLY, PHLOX, SHLEP, among others. The remaining 180 keep at least one square between them.
How many H/L words have no repeated letters?
151 of the 188. Those are the ones that reveal the most board per guess, so they are the better probes early on. The other 37 double up on some letter, and 45% of the full list carries two or more vowels. For a full clue-by-clue solve, send your board to the Wordle Solver.