Tool
Word search maker
Make a printable word search from your own words — spelling lists, vocabulary, a party theme — easy, medium or hard, with the word list under the grid and an answer page. Any size from 6 × 6 to 25 × 25, capitals or small letters, on A4 or US Letter.
Stays on this device: never put in a link or sent anywhere.
Across, down and diagonal.
10 words hidden in a 11 × 11 grid, puzzle 1.
How the words are hidden
The longest word goes in first, at a random place and in a random direction allowed by the difficulty; each word after it is tried in many places and kept where it shares letters with a word already in the grid, so the words cross the way they do in a puzzle made by hand. The empty squares are then filled with random letters. For a class, pair it with flashcards or word bingo from the same list.
Keeps these settings in the link. Useful for moving from a phone to the computer with the printer on it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make my own word search?
Type your words, one per line (or separated by commas), give the puzzle a title, choose easy, medium or hard and download the PDF: the puzzle with the list of words to find, and an answer page with every word marked. Up to 40 words; spaces, hyphens and apostrophes are left out of the grid but kept in the list, so “ice cream” is hidden as ICECREAM.
What do easy, medium and hard mean?
Easy hides words only across (left to right) and down, which suits young children. Medium adds the two diagonals that read downwards and upwards to the right. Hard uses all eight directions, so words can also run backwards and up.
How big is the grid?
On Automatic, the smallest square that holds your words with room to spare — at least as wide as the longest word, and about twice as many squares as there are letters — growing until every word fits. Or choose any size from 6 × 6 to 25 × 25; if some words cannot be placed in a grid that small, the page names them.
Can I make another puzzle with the same words?
Yes: press New puzzle. Each puzzle has a number, printed at the foot of the page, and the same words with the same number always make the same grid, so you can print the answers again later. A shared link carries the settings and that number, never your words.
Does it work with accents and other languages?
Yes, for languages written in the Latin alphabet: É, Ñ, Ü, Ł and the rest are kept, and the random letters that fill the grid include the ones your words use, so an accented word does not stand out. Choose small letters if you prefer the grid in lower case.
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