6-letter words with P as the 2nd letter and L as the 5th letter

The pattern is _ P _ _ L _, so four positions remain open. Recognizable matches include openly, spells, upheld, and uphill; the list also contains less familiar entries. Nine of the 38 words rank among the commonest English words, while 27 have definitions.

The pattern at a glance

• There are 38 matches across the tournament dictionaries counted here.
• Collins accepts 36 matches; NWL2023 has 26 and ENABLE has 23.
• S is the most common first letter, with 18 words; U follows with 13.
• The most frequent final letter is S, appearing on 17 matches.
• Spryly leads the scoring list at 14 points.
• The average score across the 38 words is 9.4.

Which starting letters and endings dominate?

S, U, and A account for most of the opening letters: 18 words begin with S, 13 with U, and five with A. The remaining matches start with E or O. Examples show the spread: spells and spills begin with S, upheld and uphill with U, and apollo with A.

S also dominates the final position, with 17 words ending in S. D and L tie at six each, as in upheld and uphill. That makes a final S a strong pattern clue, but it is not required: apollo, openly, and uphill all fit without one.

How should you use the _ P _ _ L _ pattern?

Lock P into the second slot and L into the fifth before testing the other letters. For familiar candidates, try openly, spells, upheld, uphold, or uphill; each keeps both fixed letters in place and gives you a recognizable word to check against crossing clues.

For a score-focused play, spryly is the standout at 14 points, while upheld, uphold, and uptalk each score 12. The limitation is dictionary coverage: Collins includes more of these matches than NWL2023 or ENABLE, so check your game's word list before playing an unfamiliar entry.