5-letter words with E as the 2nd letter and X as the 3rd letter

X in the third slot turns the frame into _EX_, and that one tile lifts the average Scrabble score to 14.1, the highest of any E-second pattern. H and S open 5 matches each, while V opens 4. Seventeen of the 30 close on S, so plurals and verb forms dominate the group rather than tidy nouns.

What stands out about the _EX_ group

• 30 matches, all 30 legal Wordle guesses, but not one has been an answer.
• The average score is 14.1, the highest for any E-second set.
• ZEXES reaches 21 points; HEXYL follows at 18.
• 17 of the 30 end in S, and 6 are found in Collins alone.
• H and S each open 5 matches, and V opens 4.

Why the X makes these words score well

X is worth 8 points at Scrabble, and every one of these 30 words carries it in a fixed slot, so the floor is already high. ZEXES tops out at 21, HEXYL reaches 18, and VEXED, HEXED, HEXAD, KEXES, WEXED and YEXED all sit on 16.

That 14.1 average towers over the 8.4 typical of other E-second patterns. Reach for this list when you need one big play rather than a familiar word, and expect the X to carry the score.

Six matches exist in Collins alone, and 24 survive in NWL2023, so the pattern thins out in North American play. The closing S is the other thing to watch: TEXTS, SEXTS, HEXES, VEXES, REXES, KEXES and WEXES all follow that shape. Slap HEXYL on a double-word square and its 18 becomes 36.

A pattern with no Wordle history