Word search maker: printable and playable online

A word search maker for printable puzzles

This word search maker turns your own list, or a ready-made theme, into a puzzle you can print or play on screen. Themes include Christmas, animals, school and sports. Empty squares are filled with letters drawn according to how often they appear in English.

The rules are the classic ones: find every word on the list in the grid and cross it out. With the mystery word option, the letters left over once every word is crossed out, read left to right and top to bottom, spell one last word to guess.

How to make a word search

1. Pick a "Ready-made theme" or type your list in "Words to hide", one per line or separated by commas (3 to 25 letters, up to 40 words).
2. Choose a "Level", or tick the "Word directions" yourself: Across, Down, Diagonal, Backwards.
3. Leave "Grid size" on "Automatic" or pick anything from 8 × 8 to 25 × 25. Tick "Mystery word" if you want a final word to find.
4. Add a "Printed title", pick US Letter or A4, tick "Answer key on a separate page" and click "Print the puzzle".

To play online, drag from the first letter to the last with a mouse or finger, or tap the first letter and then the last one. Found words are struck through and the timer stops at the last one.

Levels and grid size

• Easy: words read left to right or top to bottom. Good for kindergarten to second grade.
• Medium: adds the diagonals that run to the right, up or down.
• Hard: all 8 directions, backwards included.

On "Automatic", the grid grows with the number of letters. The Christmas theme has 15 words and 88 letters, which usually gives 14 × 14 on Easy, 13 × 13 on Medium and 13 × 13 on Hard. If a word cannot be placed, the tool tries again and then enlarges the grid. With a fixed size, a word that will not fit is left out and a message names it.

For a mystery word, the grid is sized so the count works out exactly: letters in the words plus letters in the mystery word, minus the squares shared by two words, must equal the number of squares. Christmas has 88 letters, plus TOYS makes 92; in a 10 × 9 grid of 90 squares, the words must cross exactly twice. That is why the size menu is locked in this mode.

Ways to use it

• Classroom: weekly spelling lists, science vocabulary.
• Learning a language: hide the French or Spanish words from the lesson.
• Parties and birthdays: guests' names, with a mystery word that reveals the surprise.
• Seniors: a 12 × 12 grid on Easy reads well on paper.

Tips for a good puzzle

Mix word lengths: a few 4-letter words with some 9-letter ones make a livelier grid than a list of same-size words. Skip 3-letter words when you can, since they get lost among the filler letters. If one word sits inside another, such as CAT in CATERPILLAR, the tool warns you, because it can then be read twice.

The "Seed" brings a puzzle back: the same seed, words and settings always give the same grid. "New puzzle" picks a new seed.

Frequently asked questions

Can a word show up twice in the grid?

No. After filling, every word is searched for in all 8 directions; if one appears a second time by chance, the filler letters involved are redrawn. The only exception is a word contained in another word, which the tool points out.

How do I print the answer key separately?

Tick "Answer key on a separate page". Page 1 holds the grid and word list, page 2 the same grid with every word highlighted and the mystery word circled.

Does it work on a phone or tablet?

Yes. The grid fits the screen width; drag your finger along a word or tap its first and last letters. "Restart the game" clears the found words and resets the timer.

Are my words saved or sent anywhere?

They stay in your browser, which remembers your last settings for next time. Nothing is sent over the internet.