6-letter words with P as the 3rd letter and L as the 4th letter

The fixed PL pair sits in the middle of every match, but the words around it vary sharply: apples and maples end in S, while employ and replay finish with Y. Only five entries rank among the commonest English words. The rest range from familiar forms to specialist vocabulary, so the pattern is more distinctive than its simple letter clue suggests.

At a glance: the PL pattern

• There are 33 six-letter matches with P in position three and L in position four.
• Collins lists all 33; NWL2023 includes 27 and ENABLE includes 22.
• Only five matches are classed as common, including apples, employ, and replay.
• Implex tops the scoring list at 17 points; duplex, byplay, and diplex each score 16.
• Six words end in S, while T and Y each finish five matches.

How many 6-letter words with P third and L fourth?

There are 33, and that is a small pool beside nearby patterns: 292 words put L in both the third and fourth positions, while 166 put P in both. The exact PL sequence narrows the search quickly, making it a useful clue when you know two adjacent letters but not the rest.

The starting letters are spread across eight groups. D and R lead with six words each, followed by P with five; apples, caplin, and duplex show how different the opening letters can be. At the other end, S is the most frequent finish with six entries, including apples, maples, and tuples.

Which matches score most, and what should you watch for?

Implex leads at 17 points, with duplex, byplay, and diplex tied at 16. Those strong scores come from less everyday vocabulary, not from the most familiar answers: apples, employ, and replay are easier to recognize, but none leads the scoring table.

For a practical shortlist, sort by the ending you need. The six S endings include apples and maples; five Y endings include employ and replay; four X endings include duplex and suplex. That spread is a useful check when a crossing letter rules out one family but leaves another open.

The phrase 6-letter words with P third and L fourth describes a letter pattern, not a promise that every entry will be accepted in every game. Some choices are obscure, and dictionary coverage differs across Collins, NWL2023, and ENABLE, so check your game's word list before committing to an unfamiliar scorer.