5-letter words with B as the 1st letter and K as the 5th letter

A final K is the whole story here: all 21 matches end on a 5-point tile, which lifts the average to 11.6. Ten are Wordle answers, the best hit rate in the B family, and six finish in -NK.

Inside the 21 B first, K fifth words

• 21 B-words close on K.
• Every match ends on a 5-point tile, so the average is 11.6.
• 10 matches are Wordle answers, almost half.
• Six tie at 13: BLACK, BLOCK, BRICK, BROCK, BRACK and BOBAK.
• BR opens nine and BL six.

Which B first, K fifth words are Wordle answers?

Ten fit: BLACK, BLANK, BLEAK, BLINK, BLOCK, BREAK, BRICK, BRINK, BRISK and BROOK. Five open with BL, so a BL-starting guess with a final K reads the solution quickly. Six matches also close on -NK, among them BLANK, BLINK, BRINK and BLUNK.

All ten also rank as common, and one more match, BROCK, joins them on the frequency list. That makes the pattern unusually easy to recognise for a fixed pair of tiles. BROCK, the lone common non-answer, still scores 13.

Why the K ending lifts every score

A final K adds 5 before anything else counts, so even a quiet word like BROOK reaches 11. Six matches tie at 13, and the group averages 11.6, the highest of any B middle. Nine matches open with BR and six with BL.

Length offers little. Six-letter matches rise only to 34 and seven-letter matches to 64. Five matches are Collins-only, so check your word list before playing BANAK or BRACK.

Using the K ending in a game

1. Place the K first, since it caps the pattern at 21 matches.
2. Read the opening next, because BR covers nine words and BL covers six.
3. Reach for BLACK, BLOCK or BRICK when you want the full 13 points.