LetterToolkit guide
Word Finder Patterns: Starts, Ends, Contains and Wildcards
How to translate puzzle clues into useful word-finder constraints.
Start with hard constraints
Exact length and fixed positions are usually the strongest clues. Enter them before broad includes or exclusions.
Starts with and ends with
Prefix and suffix filters are useful when a clue gives a beginning or ending. They can also help study families such as re- words or -tion nouns.
Contains does not mean position
Use a contains filter when a letter or sequence can appear anywhere. Do not encode it as a fixed-position pattern unless the puzzle tells you the location.
Wildcards represent unknowns
A wildcard stands for a position or tile you genuinely do not know. Too many wildcards produce huge result sets, so combine them with other clues.
Exclusions are powerful
Removing impossible letters can shrink a list quickly. Check repeated-letter rules before excluding a letter entirely.
Refine in stages
If the first search returns hundreds of results, add one reliable constraint at a time. This makes it easier to spot which clue changes the candidate set.
Related tools
Try the Word Unscrambler, Word Finder, Wordle Helper or browse our word lists.
Last reviewed: August 2026.