5-letter words with E as the 3rd letter and R as the 5th letter

The pattern is _ _ E _ R: E sits in the middle, and every match ends in R. Familiar choices such as CLEAR, SWEAR, and CHEER share space with less common entries. S leads the starting-letter group, while all 35 words appear in Collins, giving this compact clue list a noticeably uneven mix of openings.

At a glance: the E–R pattern

• There are 35 tournament-dictionary words with E third and R fifth.
• S starts 16 matches; A is next with 5.
• THEIR, CLEAR, SWEAR, and CHEER are recognizable examples.
• QUEER scores 14 points, the top base score among the listed words.
• 12 matching entries also appear in the Wordle answer list.

5-letter words with E third and R fifth

S is the standout opening: it begins 16 of the 35 words, including SWEAR, SHEER, STEER, SPEAR, SMEAR, and SNEER. A begins 5, while B, C, F, and T each begin 2 and D and E each begin 1. If your first letter is still unknown, testing S covers the largest group by a clear margin.

The familiar words are useful for narrowing a puzzle: CLEAR and SHEAR differ at the start, while CHEER and SHEER share their final four letters. The full set is less familiar than those examples suggest: only 10 entries fall within the common-word group. For word-game acceptance, Collins has all 35; ENABLE includes 22 and NWL2023 includes 23, so the same candidate may not be accepted in every game.

This pattern also has 12 entries in the Wordle answer list, and all 12 are in a tournament dictionary. For letter placement, keep the fixed E and R in view, then use the opening letter to sort likely answers. That is more targeted than treating every word ending in R as a match.

A practical limit of the pattern