5-letter words with I as the 2nd letter and L as the 3rd letter

The pattern is _IL__, so the first and last letters do most of the sorting. F, M, and P tie as the most common first letters, with 17 words apiece; S follows with 14, while 60 entries finish in S and 19 finish in Y. Other starters include W with 10, and B and T with 9 each.

The pattern at a glance

• 148 entries qualify because they appear in at least one of ENABLE, Collins, or NWL2023.
• 30 are common by the wordfreq cutoff: the top 25,000 English words.
• F, M, and P each begin 17 matches; S begins 14.
• ZILCH scores 19 points, ahead of MILTZ at 16 before board bonuses.

Which endings dominate this pattern?

S wins decisively: 60 words end in S, compared with 19 ending in Y and 11 in R. Familiar examples include BILLS, FILMS, FILES, HILLS, and MILLS. If your final tile is S, test that ending early; it covers more words than any other last letter in this group.

Wordle's answer list contributes 17 matches, and all 17 appear in at least one tournament dictionary. MILES, PILOT, and SILLY show how the fixed IL pair can lead to different endings and starting letters. The full matching set also contains allowed guesses beyond the answer list, so distinguish answers from guesses when checking a solve.

5-letter words with I as the 2nd letter and L as the 3rd letter

Dictionary coverage varies across this pattern. Collins includes 146 entries, NWL2023 includes 118, and ENABLE includes 112; those totals overlap, so do not add them to estimate distinct words. Check your game's word list before relying on an unfamiliar entry.

For Scrabble scoring, ZILCH stands out at 19 points, followed by MILTZ at 16; MILKY, ZILLA, ZILLS, and ZILAS each score 14. Z makes the first two worth learning, but a premium square matters more than the base score: save Z for a letter bonus when the board permits. MILES and FILES are easier to spot, but do not match the top score.