Make a word search puzzle from your own words

The job

A word search is a vocabulary sheet disguised as a game — teachers use them for review, hosts use themed lists as icebreakers. The tool places each word on a grid and fills the gaps with matching letters.

How to do it

Enter one word per line, pick a grid size a bit larger than the longest word, and choose easy (right, down, diagonal down) or hard (all eight directions). Regenerate for a different arrangement.

• A 12×12 grid comfortably hides 8–12 words; more words or a small grid may leave some unplaced, which are listed so you can adjust.
• For young solvers, easy mode and short common words work best.

Worked example

Ten space-theme words on a 12×12 easy grid print on half a sheet with the word list underneath — the hidden placements are listed too, so the answer key is the same output.

Limits

Letters can be Latin (uppercased) or kana — mixing scripts in one grid is not supported. A word longer than the grid cannot fit, and very full grids occasionally leave a word out. The grid is screen output; printing uses the browser's print of the page.