Today's Wordle hints and answer — solution #648, Wednesday, March 29

Wordle displayed on a smartphone
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Today's Wordle answer wasn't too bad, though I could see it falling apart if you don't pick a strong starting word. Still, according to the New York Times' WordleBot (opens in new tab) tool, the average player will complete Wordle #648 in 4.1 turns if they play in easy mode, or 3.7 if they prefer the challenge of hard.

Each day, we will update this article with Wordle hints and tips to help you find today's answer. And if the hints aren't enough, we'll even give you the answer, in case you're really stuck or just haven't had time to complete today's puzzle. Plus, we are also including an analysis of yesterday's puzzle, #647, in case you're reading this in a different time zone.

So be warned: spoilers lie ahead for game #648. Only read on if you want to know today's Wordle answer!

Today's Wordle answer #648 — hints to help you solve it

Our first tip is that you should use one of the best Wordle start words for every game you play. But if you want some more specific clues to today's Wordle answer, then here you go:

  • It contains one of the five vowels.*
  • It has one repeated letter.
  • It contains two of the top five most common letters in Wordle (one of them twice).

* By vowel, we mean A, E, I, O, U. There are other letters that are sometimes considered to be vowels, depending on how they are used. 

Those hints should get you at least some of the way towards finding today's Wordle answer. If not, then you can read on for bigger clues; or, if you just want to know the answer, then skip down further for that.

Alright then, here's a larger hint: Today's Wordle answer could cause some trouble.

What does today's Wordle start with?

The answer to Wordle #648 starts with B, so combined with the hints above you should now have all the clues you need to get the answer and not break a Wordle streak. 

OK, it's now time to scroll down for the answer…



Today's Wordle answer #648, Wednesday, March 29

The game Wordle displayed on two smartphones

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

So, what is today's Wordle answer for game #648?

Drumroll, please — it's BESET.

Quite pleased with how today's Wordle went for me. As you'll see, I owe my three-turn win to a remarkably lucky second turn - but hey: a gentleman makes his own luck (usually via one of the best Wordle start words).

Actually, that wasn't the case for me though. My usual pick of AUDIT wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. That green 'T' ending the word meant there were 56 possible answers remaining.

Better options were available, according to WordleBot. SLATE would have left 19 possible solutions, STARE would be one better with 18, and LEAST would have left just 3. 

So not a bad first move, but my second turn was positively inspired (read: lucky). It eliminated all but a single word.

Wordle #648

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

That word was RESET. I wanted a word with either an 'E' or 'O' in - ideally both - and ending in 'T', but I was coming up blank on that*. So I picked a Hail Mary move and tried a double 'E'. At the very least, I figured, I'd know for sure where the 'E' lived.

Instead, however, both 'E's, the 'S' and 'T' turned green. Remarkable - though only remarkable enough for a 93% luck score on Wordle, weirdly.

Anyway, it didn't take long to sniff out the answer from there: BESET. I duly typed it and felt a rush of delight as all the letters turned green for a three-turn victory.

Hope you did well today, Wordlers. I'll see you tomorrow for Thursday's puzzle.

Alan Martin

* WordleBot to the rescue! It turns out that I could have played COMET, COVET, OCTET, OVERT, BESOT or ONSET. I mean, it's lucky I didn't, but good to know all the same...

Yesterday's Wordle answer #647, Tuesday, March 28

Reading this in a later time zone? The Wordle answer for game #647 was HURRY

Oh boy, that was a close-run thing. I'm still yet to lose a game since starting my Tom's Guide Wordle column, but today's puzzle was as close as I've come. On the last move, I was torn between two possible answers, as you'll see in a minute.

I don't think I did anything especially wrong, but see what you think as I retrace my steps. 

I started with my usual pick of the best Wordle start words: AUDIT. Today it immediately revealed the word's only vowel in the right position, giving me a green 'U'.

WordleBot says that this move left 115 possible answers. Not the best score, but far from my worst either. And, in fact, quite a few of WordleBot's suggested starting words were in triple-figure territory, thanks to only one of the letters being in the ten most common characters ('R'). Still, playing CARET would have left you with 31 possible answers, while both STARE and TEARS would have left you with 22.

With one vowel in place and nothing else, I had a wide choice of letters to put around it. Knowing I wanted to test another vowel, I played RUNES, which wasn't too bad. It revealed a yellow 'R' and duly reduced the number of possible answers to 12.

Wordle #647

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

I halved that with my next turn: MURKY. Six answers remained, thanks to me getting two more greens. I now knew the word had to be ?UR?Y.

Unfortunately, I didn't capitalize. I tried BURLY next which didn't reveal any more letters. The only consolation was that it ruled out CURLY, but it still left four possible answers, with only two turns remaining. Eek.

Realizing that it could be a double 'R', I tried FURRY. That notion was correct - but with the word revealed to be ?URRY, I still had two options: HURRY and CURRY. 

It was a coin toss, but I decided that HURRY was a more Wordle-like word. I was right, and the letters all turned green.

Phew: a close call. I hope you cut it less fine, Wordlers. See you tomorrow.

Alan Martin

Previous Wordle answers

If you're looking for a list of older Wordle answers, we can also help. Here's a list going back 20 games.

  • Wordle #647: HURRY
  • Wordle #646: GUANO
  • Wordle #645: UNTIE
  • Wordle #644: VOTER
  • Wordle #643: GROUT
  • Wordle #642: STAID
  • Wordle #641: DUVET
  • Wordle #640: TOUGH
  • Wordle #639: GLOVE
  • Wordle #638: CREDO
  • Wordle #637: YACHT
  • Wordle #636: MEALY
  • Wordle #635: CIDER
  • Wordle #634: SWEEP
  • Wordle #633: SURLY
  • Wordle #632: BLAME
  • Wordle #631: BIRTH
  • Wordle #630: EMAIL
  • Wordle #629: REVEL
  • Wordle #628: WHERE

Wordle tips — how to win at Wordle

The best tip I can give is to use one of the best Wordle start words. I can't stress this enough — it makes a massive difference.

Without one, you'll be scrabbling around in the dark trying (and possibly failing) to find the right five letters (or possibly fewer) out of the 26 possibles. But clever people (not me) have done the math and identified the best start words based on both frequency in English and frequency among Wordle answers. So use them! 

Secondly, think about combinations, especially at the start and end. Some options are far more common than others — for instance, SH, ST, CR and CH all feature frequently. 

Vowels obviously need consideration too: not all Wordle answers will contain more than one, but plenty do, and some even have three. A good Wordle start word should have used a couple, but if they don't feature you might well want to try another one or two on your next go. Plus, remember the Y — this sometimes acts as a surrogate vowel, and is easy to forget. It also appears at the end of plenty of words.

Finally, try out possibilities. So long as you don't press 'Enter' you can try possible answers to see how they look on screen. Put in likely letters plus any you know are definitely in the word, then mentally change one to the other available options. This technique has worked for me multiple times, and it's particularly helpful when the word in question is not an obvious one (like FJORD or ISLET). 

But if you're still struggling with Wordle, check out how Tom's Guide's Wordle experts have honed their strategy after playing every Wordle so far and losing only once.

We also have plenty of Wordle tips and tricks to share, like how we've analyzed every Wordle answer to look for patterns and have some further advice for you there. And if you're new to the game you should also take a look at our What is Wordle? guide.

What else should I know about Wordle?

Wordle officially launched in October 2021, but actually started in June of that year and celebrated its first birthday on June 19, 2022. (You can read my thoughts on the 5 things Wordle needs to improve if it's to keep us playing for its second year.)

However, it only grew in popularity towards the end of the year, then went viral in January as the world woke up to its charms. In fact, it proved so successful that The New York Times bought Wordle for a seven-figure sum in early February and the game is now part of NYT Games.

It's played via the NYT Games website here (opens in new tab), and is entirely free. Both the NYT and the game's creator, Josh Wardle, have stated that it will remain free. Some people think that Wordle has got harder since the NYT takeover, but it really hasn't.

Wordle is a simple game in which your challenge is to guess a five-letter word in six attempts. Each time you guess, you're told which of your chosen letters are in the target word, and whether they are in the right place. 

If a letter is in the correct place, it turns green. If it's in the word but in the wrong place, it turns yellow. And if it's not in the word at all, it turns gray.

There's just one puzzle a day, and everyone completes the same one. It resets at midnight each day. You'll find more information about the game in our What is Wordle? article.

Wordle Alternatives

If you're eager for another game to pass the time while you wait, we've put together a list of the best Wordle alternatives. We also have a page on today's Quordle answers, because it's our favorite.  

Other Wordle alternatives to try are the ultra-stressful (but very good) Squabble and the soccer-themed, Who Are Ya?. We also like the geography-based Wordle clone Worldle, the Star Wars-themed SWordle and the math-based Mathler.

There are certainly plenty of options once you've finished Wordle for the day!

Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.

With contributions from
  • fraochmuir
    There is no yellow E in Stare for March 27th.
    Reply
  • John II
    I used to use SUITE which uses 3 common vowels and 2 common consonants. Lately, it seems like some of the words have been a bit more obscure, so I've switched to HAVER (thanks goes out to The Proclaimers and 500 Miles for this obscure word). If no hits, that's fine, I burn some more letters to narrow the field by using two more vowels and other common consonants... MOIST. Yeah, I know... no one likes MOIST, but it reveals two more vowels and three more consonants . That combo helped me get today's HAIRY on the third guess! 🆒
    Reply
  • Nhobuna
    The may 10th answer might also be a double. I was working through it but I have a b,u, and t as letters that are in the actual word.
    Reply
  • TexTechie
    There are 2 answers again evidently.. I have the same word as you and it's not gecko obviously 😅
    Reply
  • Scotth71
    Far from Gecko for me. Not sure what is going on but seems someone has mucked up.
    Reply
  • SS2021user
    Was in the exakt same position with the end of 335, but chose wrong. Didn't think GAMER would be a very likely word, so I chose GAZER instead. Goodbye 40 day streak!
    Reply
  • Jarmeister
    Ugh. Today's (#344) was near impossible for a non native English speaker. Word I've only heard in couple of songs and would probably not use naturally in conversation.
    Reply
  • JES2000
    I'm surprised to see the misspelled "alright" in a wordle story.
    Reply
  • SS2021user
    I got Wordle 348 in 3 guesses as well, but I got... slightly luckier with my second guess. After guessing STARE I guessed PHONY, leaving me with 1 possible solution, and 4 green letters.
    Reply
  • R_macus
    Streak ended with #357. Stare, House, poise, loose, moose, noose.
    Reply