--- title: "Word Search Generator - Print Puzzles and Answers" description: "Create a word search with your own words. Choose grid size and difficulty, reveal the answer key, download SVGs, or print the puzzle and solution as a PDF." url: https://candoya.com/tools/word-search-generator/ locale: en type: browser-tool --- # Word Search Generator Category: [Games & Fun](https://candoya.com/tools/games/) ## How do you make a word search with your own words? Enter a word list, choose a grid size and difficulty, then generate your puzzle. This word search generator places your words in a letter grid and fills the gaps with random letters. You can reveal the answer key, download a printable SVG, or print the puzzle with a separate solution sheet. Use Easy for words reading right or down. Medium adds diagonals running down-left and down-right. Hard permits all eight directions, including backwards. Grid size and difficulty are separate controls: a large grid offers more hiding space without changing the directions. A 15 by 15 grid is a useful starting point for a short classroom list. If a word is longer than the grid width, it cannot fit, even diagonally: a straight diagonal in a square still contains only that many cells. Increase the size or shorten the entry. ## How to use it 1. **Add your words** - Enter one word or phrase per line, or separate entries with commas. Use A-Z letters. Spaces, hyphens and straight apostrophes are removed, so ICE CREAM becomes ICECREAM. 2. **Choose the challenge** - Pick a 10, 15, 20 or 24 cell square grid and a difficulty. Add an optional title, then select Generate puzzle. Any words that could not be placed are listed clearly. 3. **Check the answer key** - Turn on Show answers to outline the placed letters. Copy the answer key for start and end coordinates, or select New layout to try another arrangement. 4. **Print or download** - Print / Save PDF opens a clean print window. Choose your browser's Save as PDF destination if available. Include answer key adds a separate solution page. Download SVG saves whichever view you are showing. ## Who it's for - Turn a weekly spelling list into a printable classroom activity. - Make a birthday puzzle from names, places and favorite things. - Review topic vocabulary using a themed puzzle and a separate teacher answer key. ## Expert note The generator tries up to 12 layouts, placing longer words first and allowing matching letters to overlap. It keeps the layout with the most placed words. This bounded search does not prove that an omitted word is impossible to fit. Filler may also spell extra copies or unintended words, so review every puzzle before distributing it. ## Frequently asked questions ### Are my words uploaded or made public? No. Your list, title and puzzle are processed in this browser. They are not uploaded to a puzzle service or published in a gallery. Download or print anything you want to keep before closing the page; the tool does not save your word list. ### Is this word search generator free? Yes. Creating puzzles, showing answers, copying text, downloading SVG files and printing are free. No account is needed. PDF output uses your browser's print dialog rather than a separate PDF download service. ### How many words can I use? Use up to 30 unique entries, each containing 2-24 letters after spaces, hyphens and apostrophes are removed. The input limit is 4,000 characters. Duplicate normalized entries are counted once. Dense lists may not all fit; omitted words are listed and excluded from the puzzle's word bank. ### Can I use accents or other alphabets? The grid supports only the 26 letters A-Z. Lowercase letters become uppercase, but accented letters, digits and other alphabets are rejected rather than silently changed. You can use words from any language that can be written with the supported letters. ### How do I print the puzzle with answers? Leave Include answer key checked and select Print / Save PDF. The puzzle and answer key occupy separate pages. Allow the print pop-up if your browser blocks it. For an image file, download the puzzle SVG, then turn on Show answers and download the key SVG. ### Can I reproduce the same puzzle later? Yes. Expand Repeat a layout and keep its seed together with the exact word list, entry order, grid size and difficulty. The same inputs reproduce the same layout in this version of the generator. New layout changes the seed. Editing inputs clears the old preview so exports always match the current puzzle. ### Does the answer key show every possible word occurrence? It marks the placements chosen by the generator, not every accidental occurrence in the finished grid. Short words and reversed word pairs can share cells. Random filler can form additional words, including unintended ones; there is no automatic word filter. ## Related tools - [Bingo Card Generator](https://candoya.com/tools/bingo-card-generator/) - [Maze Generator](https://candoya.com/tools/maze-generator/) - [Anagram Game](https://candoya.com/tools/anagram-game/) - [Sudoku Solver](https://candoya.com/tools/sudoku-solver/) --- *Markdown edition of , published for AI agents and other automated readers. Index of key pages: .*