# What English Word Produces The Most Other English Words With The Exact Same Number Of Letters
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 7, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161 "2022-12-07T19:15:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/1 "2022-12-07T19:15:57Z")
The English letters A E and R can produce “are,” “era,” and “ear,” but “aer” and “rae” are not words. A E and T produce “eat,” “ate,” and “tea,” but no others.
Are they any English words whose letters – all of them, no more no less – can produce more words?
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### Author:  [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/2 "2022-12-07T19:21:29Z")
Just off the top of my head, there’s STOP, POST, POTS, TOPS, and OPTS for 5.
ETA: I’d argue that “eta” is a word.
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/3 "2022-12-07T19:44:17Z")
> [@Rhodes](#):
>
> ETA: I’d argue that “eta” is a word.
But is it an English word or a Greek one?
Based on what makes different words “different”, my guess would be
Rates, Tares, Stare, Tears (pulls apart), Tears (crying), Aster, Taser, Resat
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### Author:  [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/4 "2022-12-07T19:46:35Z")
Is it time for another Python script?
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2022, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/5 "2022-12-07T21:18:24Z")
You forgot SPOT for six.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/6 "2022-12-07T22:36:38Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> But is it an English word or a Greek one?
If we’re going to go that route, is “mu” an English word or a Greek word? Because it’s not a Greek word, or at least, not a modern Greek word. Modern Greeks call \mu “mi”. Or, I suppose, \mu\iota.
But the Greek letters (at least, in their classical spellings) show up in most English dictionaries, so I think I’m OK with calling them English words.
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### Author:  [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2022, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/7 "2022-12-07T23:03:57Z")
I found ten:
least, setal, slate, stale, steal, stela, taels, tales, teals, tesla
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2022, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/8 "2022-12-07T23:04:30Z")
Worth looking into, but what is the official wordlist?
“Pears” is pretty good, as is “stare”.
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### Author:  [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/9 "2022-12-07T23:05:47Z")
Listen, silent, tinsel, enlist for a longer word.
I do puzzles regularly, anagram magic square deals with this.
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### Author:  [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2022, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/10 "2022-12-07T23:24:17Z")
If using something as unseemly as the Scrabble Dictionary as your guide, “tae” is a word in addition to already mentioned letters used in math and physics, often for small values.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2022, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/11 "2022-12-08T03:19:07Z")
With 6 letters we can do crates / traces / reacts / caster / carets / recast / caters for at least 7.
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2022, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/12 "2022-12-08T07:05:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> But the Greek letters (at least, in their classical spellings) show up in most English dictionaries, so I think I’m OK with calling them English words.
This is exactly right. Any headword (which are virtually always in boldface) in an English dictionary is an English word. If it wasn’t then they wouldn’t be defining it in an English dictionary.
Note that I’m not saying that all English words are headwords in some dictionary. There are lots of English words that don’t make it into dictionaries.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/13 "2022-12-08T14:26:39Z")
Not as good as some of the above, but there’s
SHEAR
SHARE
HARES
RHEAS
HEARS
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2022, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/14 "2022-12-08T15:25:41Z")
> [@DPRK](#):
>
> “Pears” is pretty good,
12 words
> [@DPRK](#):
>
> as is “stare”
Just 6
From [here](https://www.wordgamedictionary.com/)
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2022, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/15 "2022-12-08T17:15:43Z")
No as good as many others
EARS
ERAS
SEAR
ARSE
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### Author:  [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2022, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/16 "2022-12-11T05:29:09Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> > [@DPRK](#):
> >
> > as is “stare”
>
> Just 6
You found seven in post #3.
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2022, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/17 "2022-12-11T07:53:15Z")
If tears as in ripping something and tears as in crying are considered separate words. The judges haven’t made a decision.
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### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/18 "2022-12-12T15:51:39Z")
What someone came up with:
[96n8jj2scnk61.png (5100×2460) (redd.it)](https://i.redd.it/96n8jj2scnk61.png)
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### Author:  [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2022, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-word-produces-the-most-other-english-words-with-the-exact-same-number-of-letters/976161/19 "2022-12-12T21:45:09Z")
> [@SCAdian](#):
>
> You found seven in post #3.
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> If tears as in ripping something and tears as in crying are considered separate words. The judges haven’t made a decision.
Apparently one of us can’t count.
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> Rates, Tares, Stare, Tears (pulls apart), Tears (crying), Aster, Taser, Resat