Invented for a newspaper ad
The first modern word search appeared in 1968 in a small Oklahoma newspaper as a promotional puzzle—teachers clipped it, and it spread nationwide.
Origin spark
Word Search — Play & Maker (Printable)
Find these words:
Options & Export
Tip: Drag across letters or click start–end cells. Keyboard: Tab + Enter to activate selection.
About Word Searches (Teacher Notes)
Word searches build letter recognition, spelling, and scanning skills in a low-pressure format that’s easy to differentiate for age and ability. With this maker you can paste any word list—geography, biology, vocabulary, or revision terms—and quickly create a printable that fits your classroom or home learning session.
For younger learners, keep grids small (8×8–10×10), turn off diagonals, and avoid backwards words. For older or more confident learners, enable diagonals/backwards and increase the grid size to 12×12–18×18. The Daily or Custom seed feature makes puzzles reproducible and sharable: same words + same seed = the same grid. Everything runs locally in your browser—no uploads—so class lists and custom terms remain private.
Printing uses a clean layout for A4/Letter and preserves proportions. The PNG export is useful for slides, worksheets, and LMS uploads. The Classroom Pack creates five variants at once, ideal for differentiated groups or preventing over-sharing of answers between neighbours. Consider pairing with our Word Counter and Markdown → PDF tools for quick worksheet production.
5 Fun Facts about Word Searches
Seeds make twins
Use the same word list and the same seed and you get an identical grid—handy for making matching “with/without answers” copies or reproducible homework.
Repro magic
Backwards boosts difficulty fast
Allowing reversed words roughly doubles the search space; adding diagonals increases it again. Tiny toggles can turn a kids’ puzzle into a brain-twister.
Difficulty knobs
Hidden data patterns
Every filled grid is a jumble of letters, but the unused cells often create accidental mini-words. Some makers deliberately plant extra Easter eggs.
Easter eggs
Print-first heritage
Word searches were born on paper, which is why A4/Letter-friendly spacing and good contrast still matter—even when exporting to PNG or slides.
Paper roots