Let the answer length do the work
The defining feature of 7 Little Words is that every answer's length is given up front. Entering the exact number of blanks immediately limits the results to words of that length, which is often enough to make the answer obvious once you read the clue.
If you've already dropped a tile or two into the answer, add those letters in their positions. Known letters combine with the length to shrink the list further, turning a broad search into a short, clue-friendly shortlist.