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71 five letter words start with VE, and nearly a third of them take R as the third letter.
R takes about thirty percent, N seventeen and L ten. D, a second E and I each take six, and after that it thins out.
VERSE, VERSA, VERBS, VERGE and VERVE all run VER, and confirming that R leaves only the last two boxes in play.
That is the single most useful test available here, since no other third letter comes close to thirty percent.
VENUE, VENOM, VENTS, VEGAN and VEINS cover the N and other branches, and none of them shares anything with VER past the opening pair.
VERSE first, since it covers the dominant shape and its S and E are the commonest endings in the group.
VENOM second if the R misses, because its N, O and M reach three branches that VERSE leaves untouched.
Yes, it uses V in the first and fourth boxes. It is the only entry here that repeats the opening letter.
They differ in the last box alone. VERSE is much the more common of the two, so guess it first.
It is an everyday word now and it sits alone on the G branch, so a G in the third box points straight at it.