Word search maker

How many words fit

The right number of words depends on the grid size and on the directions you allow. To give real numbers, we ran the generator on this page 20 times for each combination, with everyday words averaging 5.7 letters (fruits and vegetables such as apple, banana, cherry, grape). The table shows the most words, in steps of five, that fitted every single time:

Those are maximums, packed tight (and 40 is the most words the maker takes). For a puzzle that is fun rather than crowded, aim for a bit over half of them: around 10 words on a 12×12 grid for younger children, 15 to 20 on a 15×15 for older students and adults. Longer words need bigger grids: a 15-letter word needs at least a 15×15 grid, and Auto picks a size that fits your list.

Making a good puzzle for a class

• Match the directions to the age. Early readers do best with words running across and down only; switch to small letters (abc) if that is what they are learning to read. Add diagonals for confident readers, and backwards words for a real challenge.
• Use the lesson's words. Spelling lists, science vocabulary or names from a book make the search a review: students read each word several times while hunting for it.
• Watch for words inside words. If the list has both CAT and CATERPILLAR, CAT can be found twice. The maker points these out so you can decide.
• Keep the key separate. The answer key is page two of the PDF: print page one for the class and keep page two for marking.
• Add name and date lines when the sheets will be handed in.

Theme ideas

Seasons and holidays (fall, winter, Thanksgiving, Halloween), a unit of study (the solar system, the water cycle, US states, parts of a plant), a party (baby shower, birthday, retirement, a family reunion with everyone's names), or a hobby (garden flowers, birds, baseball terms). Twelve to twenty words on one theme makes a puzzle that holds attention without dragging on.

How to solve a word search

Pick a word with an unusual letter, such as a Q, Z, X, J or K, and scan the grid for that letter first: there are far fewer of them than vowels. When you find it, look at the eight letters around it for the word's second letter, then follow the line. Double letters (the PP in APPLE, the OO in BOOK) also stand out. Work row by row with a finger or a ruler on paper, and cross words off the list as you go. On screen, drag from the first letter to the last, or tap one and then the other; found words are ringed in color and crossed off the list.

For more puzzles, play sudoku or print a stack of printable sudoku with answers. Word lovers can untangle letters with the word unscrambler or the anagram solver, or fill gaps with the crossword solver.