Word Search Maker — Free Printable Word Search Generator
Make a printable word search from your own words or a ready-made theme. PDF with answer key, or play it online.
🔒 Runs in your browser — files never uploaded ⚡ No signup 💯 Free
0 words · letters only, 2–15 characters each
Play it here: drag across a word, or tap its first and last letter.
Find these words
Type your own words — a spelling list, this week's vocabulary, the names of everyone at a party — or start from one of 19 ready-made themes, and get a finished word search in a second. Choose easy, medium or hard, then download a print-ready PDF with the answer key on page 2, print straight from the browser, or solve it right here on screen by dragging across the words.
No account, no watermark, no limit on how many puzzles you make. Everything runs in your browser, so your word lists are never uploaded.
How to use Word Search Generator
- Pick a theme or type your words, one per line. Letters only; spaces and punctuation are removed, so "ice cream" becomes ICECREAM.
- Choose a difficulty. Easy, medium and hard set the grid size and word directions for you. Change any option to make a custom puzzle.
- Click Generate puzzle. Click again for a fresh layout of the same words.
- Download the PDF (US Letter or A4, with or without the answer key), or Print. To play on screen, drag from the first letter of a word to the last, or tap both ends.
How many words, and what grid size?
The grid has to be at least as wide as your longest word, and it needs spare room or the puzzle becomes a solid block of answers with nothing to search through. These ranges give a puzzle that is full but not cramped:
| Grid | Words | Longest word | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 | 6–10 | 8 letters | Ages 5–7, quick warm-ups |
| 12 × 12 | 8–12 | 10 letters | Ages 6–8 (the Easy preset) |
| 15 × 15 | 12–18 | 12 letters | Ages 8–12, most classroom use (Medium) |
| 20 × 20 | 18–30 | 15 letters | Teens and adults (Hard) |
| 25 × 25 | 25–40 | 15 letters | Long puzzles for puzzle books and activity packs |
If a word cannot be placed, the generator tells you which one instead of quietly leaving it out, so the word list on the sheet always matches what is hidden in the grid.
Choosing the difficulty
Grid size matters less than you might expect. What really makes a word search hard is direction:
- Easy hides words left-to-right and top-to-bottom only, on a 12 × 12 grid. Children read in those directions already, so they can scan line by line.
- Medium adds diagonals on a 15 × 15 grid. This is the classic puzzle-book setting.
- Hard uses a 20 × 20 grid, allows words to run backwards in every direction, and turns on tricky filler letters: the empty squares are filled with letters taken from your own word list instead of the whole alphabet. The grid ends up full of near-misses — PLANE sitting next to PLANET, half a word that suddenly stops — which slows down even experienced solvers.
For young or early readers, switch the letters to lowercase. It is how children see words in their reading books, and it makes letters like b, d and p easier to tell apart than they are on a cereal box.
Themes, and writing a good word list
The 19 themes — animals, space, ocean, the human body, countries, dinosaurs, seasonal lists for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, and more — are a quick start; edit the list freely after loading one. When you write your own list:
- Mix lengths. A puzzle of only three-letter words is tedious; a few long words give solvers something to spot first.
- Watch for words hidden inside other words. If both CAT and CATERPILLAR are on the list, a solver can circle CAT inside CATERPILLAR and be technically right. Either drop the short word or accept the ambiguity.
- Keep it to one topic. A themed list is a lesson in itself. Scanning for vocabulary makes children look at how each word is spelled, which is why teachers use word searches for spelling practice.
Printing and the PDF
The PDF puts the title, the grid and a tick-box word list on page 1, sized to fill the page, and the same grid with every answer highlighted on page 2. Choose US Letter or A4; the tool guesses the right one from your browser's language. Leave the answer key off when you hand out copies and keep one printed with it for marking. The Print button produces the same layout without saving a file: the puzzle on the first sheet and the answer key on the second.
Playing online
Every puzzle can be solved on screen as well as on paper. Drag across a word — or tap its first letter and then its last, which is easier on a phone — and it is marked in green and ticked off the list. Selections snap to straight lines, so a slightly wobbly drag still counts. When the last word is found you get your solving time. The on-screen marks never appear on a printed or downloaded copy.
Ideas for using it
- Classroom: the week's spelling words, topic vocabulary (parts of a plant, the planets, a period of history), or new words in a language being learned.
- Home: a rainy-day activity, a car-journey sheet, or a puzzle made from the names of family members.
- Events: baby showers, weddings, birthday parties and team-building days — fill the grid with names and words from the occasion.
- Older adults: a large 15 × 15 grid printed on A4 or Letter is easy to read and a pleasant mental workout.
Word find, find-a-word, word sleuth, letter soup
The same puzzle goes by many names: word find, find-a-word, word sleuth, word hunt, seek-and-find, and in Spanish sopa de letras — "letter soup". This maker produces all of them. For other word puzzles, try the word scrambler to build jumbled-word worksheets, or the anagram solver and word unscrambler when you are on the solving side.
Frequently asked questions
Is this word search maker really free?
Yes. There is no account, no watermark on the PDF and no limit on how many puzzles you make. The puzzle is built in your browser, so the word list is never sent anywhere.
How do I get the answer key?
Leave "Answer key on page 2" ticked and click Download PDF or Print: page 1 is the puzzle, page 2 is the same grid with every word highlighted. On screen, "Show answers" highlights the words without changing the printout.
What grid size should I choose?
The grid must be at least as wide as your longest word. As a guide: 12 × 12 for about 10 words, 15 × 15 for 12–18, 20 × 20 for up to 30. If a word cannot fit, the tool names it rather than dropping it silently.
How do I make the puzzle harder?
Choose Hard, or tick Diagonal, Backwards and Tricky filler letters yourself. Backwards words are the biggest step up, because solvers can no longer scan in one direction. Tricky filler fills the gaps with letters from your own words, so the grid is full of near-misses.
Can kids play the word search online instead of printing it?
Yes. Drag across a word, or tap its first and last letter, and it is crossed off the list. It works with a mouse or a finger, and shows the solving time when every word is found.
Can I use my own words, names or another language?
Yes — type anything, one word per line. The grid uses the letters A–Z, so accents are removed and spaces are joined up ("New York" becomes NEWYORK). Names of guests, pupils or family members work well.
Why could some words not be placed?
The grid ran out of room — usually too many words for the size, or too few directions allowed. Choose a bigger grid, allow more directions, or remove a few words, then generate again.
Can I use the puzzles in class or in a book I sell?
Yes. The puzzles you make are yours to print, copy and hand out, in class or anywhere else. The word lists are your own, and the layout is generated fresh each time.