Your Spelling Bee Companion for Sunday, June 14, 2026
A field guide for the H A D E I N P hive: how many words you need, strategies for finding them, and (if you turn hint mode off) the full word lists you need to reach Genius and Queen Bee today.
Today's Board
Verified Answers
26
Disputed Words
1
Pangrams
3
Score for Queen Bee
158
Genius estimate: 111 points
Verified Answers
26
Find every accepted word in today's source list
Pangrams
3
Use all seven letters
Disputed Words
1
In our dictionary but not the Spelling Bee list
Puzzle Snapshot
Solve The Hive Before The Spoilers
This page is currently in hint mode: you get the board, counts, estimated score targets, and strategy prompts without answer words. Reveal specific words only when you are ready to check your solve.
Today's Read
Compact 26-word H board with three pangrams and most of the real scoring packed into HEAD and PINHEAD ladders.
This H-centered hive is smaller than average at 26 verified answers, but it hides three pangrams and a surprisingly rich HEAD/PINHEAD scoring lane. Start by testing HE- stems, then look for words that reuse D, E, and N rather than sweeping four-letter cleanup immediately. Repeated letters matter here, especially when they turn a plain base into a much longer payoff.
Verified answers
26
Max score
158
Genius
111
3 pangrams
Pangram Hunt
Start by forcing every letter into longer shapes before clearing short entries. Pangrams are the fastest way to move the score.
158 possible points
Point Density
The current candidate pool estimates a Genius target around 111 points. Longer words matter more than raw word count.
26 verified answers
Queen Bee Path
Use the word lists below to scoop up every point you need to reach Queen Bee.
Study mode
Definition Pass
Click unfamiliar words to reveal their definitions and cement them in your memory for next time.
Spoiler-Light Scan
Two-Letter Start Counts
Use these starts as a checklist without revealing full answers.
- answers start here
- answers start here
- answers start here
- answers start here
- answers start here
- one answer starts here
- one answer starts here
- one answer starts here
- one answer starts here
Score Planning
Word-Length Grid
Longer rows carry more score. Clear them before the four-letter cleanup.
- one-point cleanup
- score-building row
- score-building row
- 2 pangrams
- score-building row
- 1 pangram
- score-building row
Progressive Hint
First-Letter Counts
- answers
- answers
- answers
- answers
Pattern Prompts
Work The Board Without Reveals
- HEAD / PINHEAD ladder: This is the core scoring engine: one stem creates two 7-letter pangrams and then extends to the 9-letter top scorer. Examples: headpin, pinhead, pinheaded.
- DEAD- and -DED extensions: Several medium words become real point-makers when you add D-heavy endings, so keep testing whether a finished-looking word can stretch one move further. Examples: deadhead, deadheaded, headed, heeded.
- HE- front-loaded scan: The board is packed with HE starts. Running that lane early exposes both score words and cleanup words without much random searching. Examples: head, heap, heed, heaped, henna.
- Repeated-letter tolerance: Double letters are not decorative on this board. EE, NN, and PP all produce accepted answers, including some of the easiest misses. Examples: heed, henna, happened, hippie.
- Short-word cleanup last: There are only six four-letter answers, so they should be your final sweep after you cash the longer ladders first. Examples: hand, head, heap, hide, hind.
Common Prefixes
he-
This is the most productive opening on the board and it reaches from 4-letter cleanup to pangram territory.
Examples: head, headed, headpin, heap, heeded
ha-
This lane carries both a basic 4-letter answer and a useful longer pair built from the same opening.
Examples: hand, handed, happen, happened
pi-
A small prefix family, but it matters because both entries are high-value pangram answers.
Examples: pinhead, pinheaded
Common Suffixes
-ded
This ending is a major scoring tell on today's board and shows up across multiple accepted extensions.
Examples: handed, headed, heeded, deadheaded, pinheaded
-ead
If a word lands on this ending, test whether it can expand into one of the board's stronger compounds.
Examples: ahead, head, deadhead, pinhead
-ie
The puzzle allows a couple of easy-to-overlook IE endings that are worth checking once the big stems are found.
Examples: heinie, hippie
Progressive Help
Pangram Hints
All-letter family
The pangram lane is not three unrelated words. Find the 7-letter all-letter answer first, then test whether it can reverse or extend.
Reversible pangram
One pangram is a common compound shape built from HEAD plus a short ending, and a second pangram flips the same letters into a different common noun.
Reveal words: headpin, pinhead
Longest reveal
Once you find the 7-letter pair, try adding a past-participle ending to reach the board's biggest scoring answer.
Reveal words: pinheaded
Spoiler Control
Notable Words
- pinheadedPangram
- headpinPangram
- pinheadPangram
- deadheaded10 pts
- deadhead8 pts
- happened8 pts
- daphne6 pts
- heaped6 pts
- hennaed7 pts
- handed6 pts
Why these matter
- pinheaded
The board's biggest score. It uses all seven letters and shows why it pays to test one more extension after finding the shorter pangrams.
- headpin
One of two 7-letter pangrams, and the cleaner entry point into the board's central scoring family.
- pinhead
The reversible partner to HEADPIN, proving that the same letters can cash twice before the longest extension appears.
- deadheaded
A 10-letter non-pangram that quietly keeps pace with the top tier once you notice how much D-heavy extension the hive allows.
- deadhead
This is the bridge between ordinary HE/DE starts and the board's longer, more profitable compounds.
- happened
A high-value repeated-letter answer that rewards solvers who keep testing PP and -ED instead of assuming the board is mostly compounds.
Hard Finds
Tricky Accepted Words
- aphid
Easy to skip because the board otherwise leans toward everyday compounds and past-tense forms.
- daphne
A proper-name feel can make this one easy to doubt, but it is in the accepted source list.
- heinie
An unusual spelling with repeated vowels that many solvers will test too late or not at all.
- peahen
A useful natural-language compound that does not announce itself as clearly as the HEAD family does.
- hennaed
The repeated N plus the -ED finish makes this look less natural than it is.
- headpin
It looks specialized, but finding it is the key that unlocks the whole pangram family.
Disputed Candidates
Plausible Rejections
- hade
It fits the letters and remains a live BuzzyWords candidate, but it does not appear in today's verified source answer list.
Answer Vault
All The Words You Need And A Few You Don't.
Trusted words are those you'll need to solve the puzzle. Disputed words are the ones we found in our dictionary that don't appear in the Spelling Bee's curated list. But we thought you might like to see them anyway.