Free Word Search Maker & Generator
Create a custom printable word search from your own words. Choose a difficulty or exact directions, add worksheet fields, and download a clean puzzle with a separate answer key. You can also play online. It is free, needs no sign-up, and your words stay in your browser.
Private by design · client-side onlyCreate your puzzle
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City Word Search
Find and circle every hidden word.
Play with a pointer, or focus the grid and use arrow keys. Press Enter on the first letter, move to the last letter, then press Enter again.
Print or download
How to make a word search
- Add words: enter one per line or load a topic starter.
- Choose difficulty: use a preset or select exact directions.
- Create and export: check the placement report, then print or download the puzzle and answer key.
Worked example: For planet, orbit, moon, comet, rocket, choose Medium, a 12×12 grid, and right, down and forward diagonals. This leaves enough space without introducing reversed words.
Grid size and grade guidance
| Level | Suggested setup | Word count |
|---|---|---|
| Early readers | 8–10 grid; right and down | 5–8 short words |
| Upper elementary | 12–16 grid; add diagonals | 8–16 words |
| Older students/adults | 16–22 grid; all directions | 15–30 words |
What changes difficulty?
A larger grid creates more places to search. Diagonals require scanning across rows and columns. Left, up and upward diagonals make the word read in the reverse direction, so they are the strongest difficulty increase. Longer word lists make the grid denser. Use individual switches when a preset is not quite right.
Classroom examples include weekly spelling, science vocabulary, geography place names, sight words and lesson review. Keep early-reader lists short and use familiar terms.
Input limits and skipped words
The maker accepts 64 unique entries and grids from 6×6 to 26×26. Phrases lose spaces, hyphens and apostrophes in the grid; accented Latin letters become their base letters. The word report never hides an omission: it labels duplicates, unsupported characters, over-limit entries, words that are too long and words that could not be placed.
Troubleshooting: choose Resize to fit all words, remove the longest entry, enable more directions, or create again with a new seed. A dense list may still need a larger grid.
How this generator works and its limits
Each accepted entry is normalized to A–Z, then longer words are placed first using only the directions you selected. Up to 800 seeded placement attempts are made per word. Empty cells receive seeded random letters. The same custom seed, words and settings reproduce the same puzzle.
Random filler can accidentally form extra words, and the optional filter only reduces a small list of common inappropriate strings across horizontal and vertical lines—it is not a complete content-safety system. Proofread every worksheet before giving it to students. Share links contain the words and settings in the URL; PDF generation and ordinary puzzle creation stay entirely in the browser.
Frequently asked questions
Is this word search maker free?
Yes. You can create, play, print and download word search puzzles and answer keys for free, with no sign-up.
What are the word and grid limits?
Enter up to 64 unique words. Grids can be 6 by 6 through 26 by 26; a word must fit the selected grid and available space.
Can I use phrases or accented characters?
Yes. Spaces, hyphens and apostrophes are removed for the grid, and accented Latin letters are converted to their base letters. Other characters are reported as unsupported.
Why were some words skipped?
The word report identifies duplicates, unsupported characters, words longer than the grid and words that could not fit in the remaining space. Use Resize to fit all words and create again.
How do the difficulty settings work?
Easy uses a smaller grid and right or down words. Medium adds forward diagonals. Hard uses a larger grid and all eight directions. Every direction can also be switched individually.
Can I download a separate answer key?
Yes. Choose puzzle only, answer only or a combined two-page file, then download a true PDF or print it.
Should I choose A4 or US Letter?
Choose A4 for most countries and US Letter for the United States and Canada. The puzzle is scaled and paginated for the selected paper size.
Can students play the puzzle online?
Yes. Play mode includes pointer and keyboard selection, found-word progress, an optional timer, reset and a completion message.
Can I save or share a puzzle?
Download a PDF for permanent saving or copy a share link that preserves the words and settings in the URL. Very long word lists can produce long links.
Is my word list private?
Yes. Generation and file creation happen in your browser. The tool does not upload your words; a share link contains the puzzle data you choose to send.