Word search maker
Type your own words or pick a theme, choose a level from Easy to Expert and get a word search grid. Play on screen by dragging across words, or print it with an answer key. Any language and script works, including accented letters.
Find these words
About the word search maker
Type your own words or pick a theme, choose a level from Easy to Expert and get a word search grid. Play on screen by dragging across words, or print it with an answer key. Any language and script works, including accented letters.
Part of SmartCalcy’s puzzles & games tools. It runs in your browser with no account, uses your own currency and units (change them at the top of the page), and gives estimates for information only, so check official guidance before you rely on a result.
How to use the word search maker
What it calculates and when to use it
Makes a word search from your own words or a theme, in four levels, to play on screen or print. Works in any language and script, including accents and Indic, Arabic and Chinese characters.
How to use it, step by step
- Choose a level and a theme, or type your own words.
- Press Make puzzle.
- Drag across a word, or tap its first and last letters.
- Print it, or reveal the answers.
What each input means
- Level – Easy (across and down), Medium (+ diagonal), Hard (+ backwards), Expert (all 8 directions, hidden list).
- Theme – Seven English themes, or your own words.
- Words – Up to 24, each 2–18 letters.
How to read the results
- Grid – Found words turn green.
- Word list – On Expert, only the first letter and length until found.
- Timer – Stops when every word is found.
The formula
Longer words are placed first in random positions and directions allowed by the level; empty cells are filled with letters taken from your own words.
A worked example
With the eight starting words on Medium, the grid is 10 × 10 and words run across, down and diagonally down-right.
Assumptions and limits
- Letters are split into user-perceived characters, so combining marks stay together.
- Words can share letters where they cross.
Common mistakes
- Adding words longer than the grid; shorten them or remove a few.
- Using spaces inside words; they are removed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I print it?
Yes. Use Print; reveal the answers first for an answer key.
Does it work in other languages?
Yes, any script works.
How do I select a word on a phone?
Tap the first letter, then the last.