Word Search Maker
Type a list of words and the maker builds the puzzle: a printable sheet with its answer key, in Easy, Medium and Hard. Check the draft, publish it, and the puzzle gets its own link that anyone you send it to can open and print.
Free, with no account to create. Sheets print on Letter or A4.
What you get
A sheet to print and its answer key
Each level prints as a one-page PDF in large letters, with an answer key: the same grid with every word marked.
A page of its own
Once you publish, the puzzle's link opens a page with the sheet on it. Nobody finds that page unless they have the link.
How to make a word search
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Write your list. Spelling words, vocabulary from a unit, characters from a book, the players on a team: 3 to 100 words of 3 to 15 letters, one per line or with commas between them.
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Check the draft. The maker shows each level's sheet before anything is shared. Easy hides short words across and down in a 10 by 10 grid, Medium has a 12 by 12 grid with words in eight directions and a few written backwards, and Hard fills a 15 by 15 grid. Change any word while it is a draft.
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Publish and send the link. Print the sheets and the answer key, and give the puzzle's link to the people who should have it. A published puzzle no longer changes.
Ready-made word lists
The site's own 800 word lists print or play in three levels each: Planets, Thanksgiving, Christmas, 3rd grade, Kindergarten and the rest of the puzzles.
Questions
Is the word search maker free?
Yes. Making a puzzle, printing it, its answer key and its link cost nothing, and there is no account to create.
Who can see my puzzle?
While it is a draft, only the browser that made it. Once published, anyone who has its link. Puzzles made here are not listed anywhere on the site and are kept out of search engines.
How many words can one puzzle have?
From 3 to 100. An Easy sheet holds up to 5 words, Medium up to 15 and Hard up to 23. A longer list still works: each sheet takes as many words as its grid holds, and the page names the ones that are left out.
Why was a word left out?
A word longer than the level allows stays off that level's sheet: Easy takes words of up to 7 letters, Medium up to 12 and Hard up to 15. When one word hides inside another, like Sun inside Uranus read backwards, a sheet takes only one of the two. Each sheet keeps an odd number of words, so a race can't end in a tie. Every word also passes a check before the puzzle is made, and a word that fails it is marked and dropped.
Can I change a puzzle after I publish it?
No. A published puzzle stays exactly as it was, so every printed copy matches its answer key. For a new list, make a new puzzle: it gets its own link.
How long does a draft last?
Seven days after your last change. Publish it to keep it: a published puzzle stays up and its link keeps working.
Where do I find my puzzles later?
Keep the link: bookmark the page or save it with your lesson plan. The site doesn't list the puzzles you made.