Word Search Generator
Type your own words, pick the grid size and which directions the words may run, and get a word search you can print straight away. Switch the answer key on to see every word highlighted. Free, no sign-up, and your list never leaves your browser.
0 words
How to Use the Word Search Generator
- 1. Enter your words. Put one word per line, or separate them with commas or semicolons. You need 3 to 20 words, each up to 15 letters and no longer than the grid. Letters only: digits, hyphens and apostrophes are rejected.
- 2. Choose the grid and directions. Grid sizes run from 10×10 to 20×20 and start at 12×12. Horizontal and vertical are on by default; add diagonal for harder puzzles, and Allow reversed to let words run backwards.
- 3. Press Generate. The grid appears with the words to find listed underneath in alphabetical order. Regenerate builds a different layout from the same list.
- 4. Check, then print. Show answer key highlights every hidden word. Turn it off to print a clean student copy, or leave it on for the teacher's copy. Print sends the grid and word list to your printer.
How the Puzzle Is Built
The generator places the longest words first. For each word it tries up to 300 random starting squares and directions, accepting a position when the word stays inside the grid and every square is either empty or already holds the same letter. That is how words come to cross. Empty squares are then filled with letters drawn from your own words, not from the whole alphabet, so a solver cannot spot the answers by looking for unusual letters. A side effect is that a short list of words with few different letters produces a grid that uses only those letters.
Choosing a Grid Size
A grid has size × size squares, and your words need room. Counting the total letters in your list gives a quick guide: keep it below about 60% of the squares. We ran the generator 100 times on a 20-word plant-vocabulary list and on its first 10 and 15 words, with and without diagonals, and counted the runs in which some word did not fit.
| Words (total letters) | 10×10 | 12×12 | 14×14 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 (57) | All fit in 100 of 100 runs | All fit | All fit |
| 15 (86) | A word left out in 53 to 61 of 100 runs | All fit | All fit |
| 20 (119) | Several words left out in every run | A word left out in 15 runs (horizontal and vertical only) or 47 runs (with diagonals) | All fit |
If a word still fails, the tool names it under the grid: choose a larger grid, add directions, or press Regenerate. Directions matter too: diagonal words need more room than straight ones, which is why adding them made the 12×12 case worse.
Designing a Word Search That Teaches
- Match the difficulty to the group. Younger solvers do well with horizontal and vertical only on a 10×10 or 12×12 grid; add diagonals and reversed words for older students.
- Use words from the unit. Terms from this week's reading, key people or spelling words give the puzzle a purpose beyond filling time.
- Add meaning. A word search only asks students to spot letter strings, so it does not show that they know what the words mean. Ask them to write a definition for each word they find, or use a Crossword Puzzle Generator when you want recall from clues.
- Check for accidental words. The filler letters come from your words, so short extra words may appear by chance. They do not matter to the puzzle, but test-solve it once if the list matters.
Which Tool Do You Need?
| If you want students to… | Use |
|---|---|
| Spot hidden words in a grid of letters | This Word Search Generator |
| Recall words from clues, with a numbered grid | Crossword Puzzle Generator |
| Unscramble words from their jumbled letters | Word Scrambler |
| Change one letter at a time from one word to another | Word Ladder Generator |
| Decode a message written in a substitution cipher | Cryptogram Generator |
| Play a call-and-mark game with a different card each | Bingo Card Generator |
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I make a word search puzzle?
- Enter 3 to 20 words, one per line or separated by commas, choose a grid size and the directions, and press Generate. The words are hidden in the grid, the empty squares are filled in, and the list of words to find appears underneath.
- What directions can the words run in?
- Horizontal and vertical are on by default. Diagonal adds both diagonals, and Allow reversed lets each enabled direction also run backwards, so words can read right to left, bottom to top or diagonally upward. At least one direction must be on.
- Why did some of my words not fit?
- Each word gets 300 random tries, and a crowded grid can run out of room. The tool lists any word it could not place. Use a larger grid, switch on more directions, or press Regenerate for a new layout. As a guide, keep the total letters under about 60% of the squares.
- Can I use phrases or hyphenated words?
- Not directly. Spaces, commas and semicolons separate words, so a phrase becomes several words, and a hyphen or apostrophe is rejected because only letters are accepted. Join a phrase into one word, such as NEWYORK, to hide it as a unit.
- How do I print the puzzle and the answer key?
- Press Print with the answer key hidden for the student copy, then show the key and print again for yours. The page header, footer and controls are hidden in the printout. To save a file instead, choose Save as PDF in your browser's print dialog.
- Does it work with other languages?
- Yes for words written in letters, including accented ones; the tool accepts any Unicode letters and fills the grid from the letters of your own words. Right-to-left scripts are not specially handled, so test a puzzle before printing.