- Average remaining
- 1.0
- Worst branch
- 1
- Information
- 2.0 bits
It is a deliberate probe rather than a possible answer here: the point is to separate the remaining answers cleanly.
Five-letter words matching WH_L_
Showing
7
matching words
Refine this pattern
The top-ranked splitter is shown in the shortlist note below. Add a gray or yellow clue here to recalculate after the position changes.
Shortlist note
How to play this shortlist
This pattern has 7 words in the Wordle guess list; 4 are possible answers. The calculator compared 14,786 Wordle guesses against those 4 answers. The possible-answer label is a guide, not a promise about what Wordle's editors will choose.
Previously used by Wordle: WHALE (July 23, 2023); WHELP (July 26, 2021); WHILE (October 3, 2023); WHOLE (July 27, 2025).
ABIDE does not fit this page's clues. WHALE keeps every clue shown here and leaves an average remainder of 1.5 (2 in its worst branch). Check any additional yellow-position clues in the full Solver.
Tight family:
WH_LE
WHALE, WHILE, WHOLE differ only in the third position. Trying them one at a time can use several turns; ABIDE tests the family more efficiently.
Compare two plays
Choose any two plays. The figures use the same 4 possible answers.
Pattern guide
What fits WH_L_?
All 7 matching words are shown above. 4 are possible answers.
Letters that fit the blanks
- 3rd letter A, E, I, O
- 5th letter E, K, M, P
Meanings and answer history
Definitions do not affect whether Wordle accepts a word. Report a correction.
WHALE
Any large cetacean, usually with the exclusion of dolphins and porpoises.
Source: Wiktionary contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected and lightly formatted from Wiktionary; long entries may be shortened.
Past Wordle answer: July 23, 2023.
WHELP
A young offspring of a various carnivores (canid, ursid, felid, pinniped), especially of a dog or a wolf, the young of a bear or similar mammal (lion, tiger, seal); a pup, wolf cub.
Source: Wiktionary contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected and lightly formatted from Wiktionary; long entries may be shortened.
Past Wordle answer: July 26, 2021.
WHILE
An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
“He lectured for quite a long while.”
Source: Wiktionary contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected and lightly formatted from Wiktionary; long entries may be shortened.
Past Wordle answer: October 3, 2023.
WHOLE
Entire, undivided.
“I ate a whole fish.”
Source: Wiktionary contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected and lightly formatted from Wiktionary; long entries may be shortened.
Past Wordle answer: July 27, 2025.
WHELK
Certain edible sea snails, especially, any one of numerous species of large marine gastropods belonging to Buccinidae, much used as food in Europe.
Source: Wiktionary contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected and lightly formatted from Wiktionary; long entries may be shortened.
Not listed among past Wordle answers.
WHELM
To emotionally affect at an intensity in between underwhelm and overwhelm.
Source: Wiktionary contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected and lightly formatted from Wiktionary; long entries may be shortened.
Not listed among past Wordle answers.
WHILK
Alternative form of whelk.
Source: Wiktionary contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected and lightly formatted from Wiktionary; long entries may be shortened.
Not listed among past Wordle answers.
Common questions
- How many five-letter words match WH_L_?
- 7 five-letter words match WH_L_ in this site's Wordle guess list. Of these, 4 are possible answers.
- Which matching word has the highest feedback entropy?
- Among all matching words, WHALE has the highest feedback entropy at 4.97 bits against the possible answers.