Word Search Maker

Paste your spelling or vocabulary words, choose a grid size, and print a word search with its answer key. It builds instantly in your browser.

12 words · up to 60

No word list yet? Get one for a topic

Type a topic and grade, and our AI helper fills in your list for you. Check it before printing.

Spelling Word Search

Name ____________________ Date ________

Find each word in the grid. Words go across, down and diagonally.

  • planet
  • orbit
  • comet
  • galaxy
  • asteroid
  • telescope
  • gravity
  • moon
  • sun
  • meteor
  • eclipse
  • crater

How to make a word search for your class

  1. Start with the words students need to practise. This week's spelling list, science vocabulary, or character names from a class novel all work. Paste them in, one per line.
  2. Match the grid to the reader. A 10×10 grid with across and down only suits K–1. Grades 2–4 manage 14×14 with diagonals. Save backwards words for confident readers; they are genuinely harder to spot.
  3. Generate until you like it. Each click reshuffles. The status line tells you if any word could not be placed.
  4. Print both pages. The puzzle page has a name line and word bank; the second page is the answer key for you or for self-checking.

Getting more learning out of a word search

A word search on its own mostly trains visual scanning. Small twists make it a spelling activity: hide the word bank and read the words aloud instead, or give definitions and have students work out which word to hunt for. Asking students to write each word in a sentence after finding it turns ten minutes of searching into writing practice.

How a word search generator hides the words

Step through it: the generator tries random spots and directions, and throws away any try that falls off the grid or crashes into a different letter. Shared letters are allowed, which is how words cross.

Empty 7×7 grid. Words go longest-first, because long words are the hardest to fit later.

Step 0 of 48

placed just placed rejected try

Questions teachers ask

How many words should a word search have?

For early readers, 6–10 words in a 10×10 grid with only across and down directions. For grades 3–5, 12–18 words in a 15×15 grid with diagonals. Older students can handle 20–30 words in 20×20 with backwards words switched on.

Can I print a word search with an answer key?

Yes. Press "Print / save PDF". The puzzle prints on page one and the answer key, with every word highlighted, prints on page two. Untick "Print answer key" if you only want the student copy.

Why did some of my words not fit?

A word longer than the grid can never fit, and very full grids run out of spaces where a word does not clash with others. Make the grid bigger, remove a few words, or allow more directions. The maker tells you exactly which words were left out.

Do spaces and hyphens in words matter?

Letters only go into the grid, so "solar system" is hidden as SOLARSYSTEM. The word bank still shows it with the space, which is how most published word searches handle phrases.

Is my word list saved?

Your last list and settings are kept in this browser (localStorage) so you can come back and reprint. Nothing is uploaded. You can clear it on the privacy page.

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