Word Search Maker
Your words, any language, any size: print the puzzle and its answer key.
Your puzzle
Word search
Play on screen: tap or click a word’s first letter, then its last letter (or drag between them). With a keyboard, use the arrow keys and press Enter on each end.
About the Word Search Maker
Type your words — a spelling list, this week’s vocabulary, names for a party, or words in Hindi, French, Spanish or any other language — and a word search appears at once. Words can run across, down and diagonally, and backwards too if you like; every word is checked to appear only once (unless it is part of a longer word), and the grid size is picked for you or set from 8 × 8 to 30 × 30.
Each square holds one whole letter as you read it, so Hindi conjuncts such as स्ते and accented letters such as é stay in one square. Download a PDF with the puzzle and its answer key, a PNG, or the grid as text — or solve it right here by tapping the first and last letter of each word. A short puzzle code makes exactly the same puzzle again, on any device.
How to use it
- Type or paste your words, one per line or separated by commas, and give the puzzle a title.
- Choose a difficulty — Easy (across and down), Medium (diagonals too) or Hard (backwards words and look-alike letters) — or tick the directions yourself, and pick a grid size or leave it on Automatic.
- Look at the puzzle on the right. New puzzle arranges the same words differently; the puzzle code makes this one again.
- Press Download PDF for the puzzle and its answer key on A4 or US Letter paper, or download a PNG, or copy the grid as text.
- To play on screen, tap or click a word’s first letter and then its last letter. Found words are circled and crossed off the list.
Examples
12 space words · Medium · Automatic size
A 13 × 13 grid with words across, down and diagonally, the list of words under it and an answer key page
Automatic size starts at about twice as many squares as letters (69 letters, so 13 × 13) and grows if the words do not fit.
नमस्ते, विद्यालय, पुस्तक, किताब, बच्चे
Squares such as न | म | स्ते and वि | द्या | ल | य, so every letter reads correctly
For scripts other than Latin, the other squares are filled with letters from your own words.
The same words and settings, puzzle code K7Q2-9XMA
Exactly the same grid, on any device
cat and cats
A note: “cat” is part of “cats”, so it can also be found inside it
Common uses
- Spelling and vocabulary practice: the week’s words as a puzzle for homework or a quiet start to a lesson.
- Language learning in any script, from Hindi and Marathi to Greek, Russian or Vietnamese.
- Party games, birthday and baby-shower activities with names and themed words.
- A different puzzle for each group: the same words with a new puzzle code.
How the puzzle is made
The longest words are placed first, each at a random spot where it fits; words may cross where they share a letter, but a word is never hidden wholly inside another one. The empty squares are then filled with random letters, and the page checks every word in all eight directions: if a word could be found a second time, the filler is changed until each word appears exactly once. Automatic size starts at about twice as many squares as there are letters and grows by a row and a column until everything fits.
Letters in any language
- Spaces, hyphens and punctuation are left out of the grid (“ice cream” becomes ICECREAM), but the word list shows the words as you typed them.
- CAPITALS, lower case or As typed sets the case of the grid; accents stay (é, ñ, ü).
- A square holds one letter as Unicode counts it — a grapheme cluster — with Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Odia, Telugu and Malayalam conjuncts kept together, the same in every browser.
- With Latin letters the other squares get random letters A to Z (and any accented letters your words use); with other scripts they get letters from your own words.
- PDF and PNG pages are drawn by your browser at 300 dots per inch, so every script prints exactly as it shows on screen.
Easier or harder
- Easier: across and down only, fewer and shorter words, a smaller grid, and random filler letters.
- Harder: diagonal and backwards words, Letters from the words for the other squares (so the grid is full of the same letters the words use), longer words and a bigger grid.
- For young children, try lower case, 6 to 8 short words and an 8 × 8 grid.
Limitations
- Up to 60 words of 2 to 30 letters each, and grids up to 30 × 30.
- PDF pages are images at 300 dots per inch: sharp on paper, but the letters cannot be selected or searched in the PDF.
- Each PDF holds one puzzle and its answer key. For a different puzzle, press New puzzle and download again.
- Thai, Lao and similar scripts split into Unicode’s letters, so a vowel sign written as its own character takes its own square.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser: the puzzle, the PDF and the PNG are made on your device and nothing is uploaded. Your title, words and settings are kept in this browser’s storage so they are there next time.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a word search in Hindi or another language?
Yes. Type the words in any script. Each square holds one whole letter, so conjuncts such as क्ष or स्ते stay together, and the other squares are filled with letters from your words. The PDF is drawn by your browser, so it prints exactly as it looks.
How do I make the puzzle harder?
Choose Hard: words can then run backwards and diagonally, and the other squares use the letters of your words, so nothing stands out. A bigger grid and longer words make it harder still.
Is there an answer key?
Yes. The PDF has the answer key on its second page, with every word circled and its row, column and direction listed. You can also download it as a PNG, or press Show answers on screen.
How do I make the same puzzle again?
Keep the puzzle code printed at the bottom of the page. With the same words and settings, typing that code under Puzzle code makes exactly the same grid on any device.
Why was one of my words left out?
Words need at least 2 letters and at most 30, and a word that is already in the list is used once. The page says which words were left out and why. If a word does not fit the grid, make the grid bigger or allow more directions.
Can students solve it on a phone or computer?
Yes. Tap or click the first letter of a word and then its last letter (with a mouse you can also drag). With a keyboard, move with the arrow keys and press Enter on the first and last letter.