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Make Your Own Word Search Puzzle

Create a word search for free online

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The Spruce / Bailey Mariner

Word search makers make it easy to create your own ​puzzles online for free. Whether you're creating a word search puzzle for kids, adults, or yourself, you'll find these free word search makers easy to use, and they'll leave you with a great customized puzzle. Not only are these great to use with your kids at home, but they are also excellent to use in the classroom. You can create word searches to help your students study and learn new vocabulary.

Each of the listed word search makers works a bit differently, so be sure to read the directions before you get started. They all make it incredibly easy to make a word find, and you'll be surprised by the quality of the puzzle you'll get when you're done.

  • 01 of 12

    Discovery PuzzleMaker

    Screenshot of a word search puzzle

    Discovery Education

    Discovery Puzzlemaker helps you to make word search puzzles in 8 easy steps. The puzzle can be 40 letters by 40 letters large and still fit on a page, but they recommend using 15 letters by 15 letters. You also can adjust the difficulty level by sharing letters as often or as infrequently as possible. When finished, you can create the word search puzzle as HTML, uppercase text, or lowercase text.

    It's as simple as choosing a title and entering the words you want included in the puzzle. Let the program create the word search for you and you can print it off as an image or HTML file as many times as you would like.

  • 02 of 12

    A to Z Teacher Stuff

    Screenshot of a holidays word search puzzle

    A to Z Teacher Stuff

    This site offers quite a few options for customization. You can set the placement of the word list on the right or the left side of the puzzle, determine the number of rows and columns (up to 50), and set the style of the grid and font. You also can choose the word placement, including forward and backward words, to make the word search puzzle easier or more challenging. The finished product is a nice-looking puzzle that even has a place for a name and date. If you'd like to choose a common theme, the puzzle words are already in there for you, making it quick to print off in just a few clicks. If you're looking for a lot of customization settings, this is the puzzle maker for you.

  • 03 of 12

    PuzzleFast

    Screenshot of a free winter fun word search puzzle

    PuzzleFast

    PuzzleFast is so easy to use you can make a word search in just a few minutes, and the answer sheet is printed out right along with the puzzle. Just enter your title and your word list and you're ready to view your puzzle. If you don't like how the puzzle looks, just have it generate one again and it will be all mixed up in a completely new way. This is a great option if you don't care much about the details, and just want your puzzle done quickly.

    The site also offers tools to make crosswords, word jumbles, number searches, and matching worksheets.

  • 04 of 12

    SuperKids

    Screenshot of a SuperKids word search puzzle

    SuperKids

    SuperKids requires you to enter your words, choose a grid height and width, and decide whether you want to have an easy puzzle or a hard one that will put some of the words backward throughout the puzzle. The final puzzle looks very nice and is great for kids or adults to complete. ​There's a name and date section at the top.

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  • 05 of 12

    ProProfs

    Screenshot of an animals word search puzzle from ProProfs

    ProProfs

    ProProfs generates a word search puzzle to be completed online instead of being printed. You get to input the words for the puzzle, the title, a description, and keywords. You'll also choose a difficulty level and the maximum time a user has to complete the puzzle, ranging from 5 to 60 minutes. ProProfs also offers the uncommon option to fetch words from a web page instead of entering your own. Just enter a URL and the puzzle will be populated with words taken from that page. You'll have to register with ProProfs before you can build a word search puzzle, but doing so is completely free.

  • 06 of 12

    EdCreate

    Screenshot of a word search puzzle with kitchen words

    EdCreate

    EdCreate.com is super easy to use. Simply enter a page title for the puzzle, the number of rows and columns of letters, the directions you want the words to go (like diagonally, sideways, etc.), whether you want the words uppercase or lowercase, and the words you want to be included in the final puzzle. The puzzle that's generated after you choose your options looks great and is great to use in the classroom or just for fun.

  • 07 of 12

    Tools for Educators

    Screenshot of a simple word search puzzle

     Tools for Educators

    A nice feature for this word search maker is that you can have the hint be something other than the word in the puzzle to make it more challenging. You also get to choose whether you want the puzzle to be uppercase or lowercase, if it should include diagonal words or not, the type of font to use, and the grid size.

  • 08 of 12

    Puzzle-Maker

    Screenshot of a word search puzzle with fruit words

    Puzzle-Maker

    This is a no-frills word search maker where you only have to enter your words in the text area and then choose how many letters you want in the columns and the rows of the puzzle. You can select up to 50 for either. The final puzzle is simple but has nice even rows and columns making it easy on the eyes.

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  • 09 of 12

    Super Teacher Worksheets

    Screenshot of a custom word search puzzle

    Super Teacher Worksheets

    One last word search maker you may like is from Super Teacher Worksheets. It's easy to set up and the options don't cause any confusion. Start by choosing a difficulty level to immediately change some of the options, like the maximum word lengths and the grid size. Then pick a title and creator name before you enter the words that should be used in the puzzle. One option lets you alphabetize the word list. Another adds different worksheet headers to the game, like a name only or a name plus the date or class period. When finished building the puzzle, you're given a few pages to print off, including the answer key and the game itself.

  • 10 of 12

    Teachnology

    Screenshot of a word search puzzle about colors

    Teachnology

    If you're looking for a simple word search maker that will generate a quick puzzle without any hassles, this should be your pick. All you need to do is enter a title and then up to 20 words to get your puzzle. The site creates a very nice looking puzzle that has a place on the top for a name and date.

  • 11 of 12

    ABCya

    Screenshot of a word search puzzle created at ABCya.com

    ABCya

    This is a nice Flash-based word search maker that helps you create a puzzle through an easy three-step interactive wizard. You can print the puzzle or play it online. After naming your puzzle, you can choose between uppercase or lowercase letters and a 15x15 or 10x10 gameboard. You can enter up to 10 or 15 words into this puzzle, depending on the size of your game board.

  • 12 of 12

    The Teacher's Corner

    Screenshot of a word search puzzle at The Teachers Corner

    The Teacher's Corner

    The Teacher's Corner has all of the same options as most of the others on this list. The rows and columns for these puzzles can have up to 50 letters each, you can choose a custom grid style, word placement can be adjusted, grid lines can be hidden, and the word list can be positioned on the bottom or right side of the game. You choose where the word list goes on the page and you can choose to hide it or sort it alphabetically. You can choose from a variety of fonts for your word search puzzle. Word puzzles made at The Teacher's Corner can be printed off in PDF or PNG formats or played online. If playing online, you can quickly see the answers with just one click of a button. If you need some help creating a puzzle, there are several videos here that walk you through the process.

A person filling out a word search puzzle

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