6-letter words with M as the 3rd letter and L as the 5th letter

The fixed pattern is _ _ M _ L _: only the first, second, and final positions remain open. Family, female, sample, and temple show how naturally it occurs in everyday vocabulary, while jumbly and jimply sit near the top of the scoring list. Just 16 matches rank among the common English words, so a strict pattern fit can still lead to unfamiliar entries.

At a glance: the shape of this pattern

• 102 tournament-dictionary entries match the fixed third- and fifth-letter positions.
• R begins 14 of them, more than any other first letter.
• E ends 38 matches; Y is next, appearing at the end of 28.
• Only 16 entries fall within the common-word group.

6-letter words with M as the 3rd letter and L as the 5th letter

Familiar matches include family, simple, simply, female, sample, temple, humble, and comply. They show the range: the last letter can shift among E, Y, and S, while M and L stay fixed in their positions. R is the leading first letter with 14 matches; C, S, and T each begin 8.

That opening-letter spread gives you a practical way to narrow the 102-word set: test R first, then C, S, or T if the first square is known. E and Y dominate the final position, appearing at the end of 38 and 28 words respectively.

Nearby patterns have different-sized lists. Keeping M third but putting E fifth gives 215 matches; changing the third letter to R while keeping L fifth gives 126. This M-and-L combination has fewer matches than either neighbor.

How do the strongest scoring options compare?

Jumbly and jimply each score 20 points before board bonuses, the highest score for this pattern. Jymold follows at 19, while the familiar jumble earns 17. Those high values come from J, Y, and less common letter combinations, not from the fixed M-and-L positions; everyday vocabulary does not lead the score table.

The full set averages 11.4 points, but only 75 matches have definitions. Collins includes all 102 matches, compared with 71 in ENABLE and 72 in NWL2023, so acceptance depends on your game's lexicon. Some valid entries are obscure or specialized; check your game's word list before playing a rare scorer.