Word search maker
Your words hidden in a grid, in eight directions, with a size you choose.
One per line. Three to twelve letters, no numbers.
Print this one
One PDF: the sheet on the first page, the answer key on the second.
One PDF: the sheet, and the answer key on the page after it.
Words to find
- BELL
- BLIZZARD
- CHIMNEY
- COCOA
- COOKIE
- FIREPLACE
- GINGERBREAD
- HOLLY
- REINDEER
- SLED
- STAR
- TINSEL
How it works
Paste your spelling list, your vocabulary or the names of everyone in the class, and the word search is built around it. Every word is checked twice: once when it is placed, and once by reading the finished grid back in all eight directions.
- 1Type one word per line. Three to twelve letters each.
- 2Choose the grid size and the difficulty. Harder means more directions and words written backwards.
- 3Download the sheet. The answer key, with every word circled, is on the page after it.
Word search maker
How many words fit in a grid?
About eight to twelve in a 10x10, twelve to twenty in a 15x15, and up to twenty-five in a 20x20. If the words are long you need a bigger grid: a word can never be longer than the side.
Can the same word appear twice by accident?
No. After the grid is filled, every word on your list is searched for again across the whole grid, in all eight directions. If one turns up twice the grid is thrown away and built again, because a second copy would make the printed answer key wrong.
Can I use words with spaces, like ice cream?
Yes. The space is dropped inside the grid, where only letters go, and kept in the word list under the puzzle, so the sheet still reads the way you wrote it.