gizmobench

Word Search Maker

Paste a spelling list, a vocabulary set or a party theme, choose a grid from 5 to 40 squares a side and which of the eight directions words may run in, and the puzzle is built in front of you with its answer key one button away. Two things here are different from the worksheet sites this competes with. When a word will not fit, it is named: the page says which words were left out and why, instead of printing a grid that is quietly missing three of the twenty you typed. And the layout comes from a seed word you can see and type again, so the same list and the same settings rebuild the same puzzle next term rather than a new one. The empty squares are filled with letters taken from your own words, so a lone Q never points at the answer, the word bank lists only the words that are really in the grid, and the printable sheet leaves the answer key off unless you ask for it.

Building the puzzle.

Placed
0 of 0
Left out
0
5 to 40 a side

One per line, or separated by commas or semicolons. Up to 120 words. Every entry goes into the grid in capitals, with accents and punctuation removed, and a two-word entry like ice cream goes in as one run of letters.

12 words after trimming and removing repeats, 76 letters in all

Directions

Words run only in the directions you leave on. Turning the four backward and upward ones off makes an easier puzzle for a younger class.

  • Room in the gridsquares against the letters your words need
    144 squares, 76 letters to place
  • Directions allowed4 of 8
    Across, left to right, Down, Diagonal, down and right, Diagonal, up and right
  • This puzzleseed
    not while the settings above are refused
Every word that would not fit is named, not dropped. Every word the grid accepted is really in it, in one of the directions you allowed, and any word that would not fit is listed by name rather than dropped. The same seed, word list and settings always rebuild the same puzzle. The words there was no room for are listed above the controls by name, so you can widen the grid, allow more directions or take them out, and keeping the seed is what lets you print this same worksheet again next term instead of a new one. The empty squares are filled with letters taken from your own words, so the filler never points at an answer by looking foreign.

Everything runs in this browser: the words you type are not uploaded, and the list, grid size, directions and seed are remembered here so the next session opens where you left it. The Start over button at the top of the page forgets them.

Common questions

One of my words is not in the puzzle. Where did it go?
Nowhere quiet. Any word the grid could not hold is listed by name in the block under the stage, with the count, and the word bank under the grid only ever lists the words that really are in it. There are three reasons a word gets left out. The grid is full, which happens when the letters your words need come close to the number of squares: go up a size or two. The directions are too few, because turning off the backward and diagonal ones removes most of the places a long word could start. Or the word is longer than the grid is wide, and that one is refused outright with a message naming the word and the size it needs, rather than being placed off the edge.
Can I print the same worksheet again next term?
Yes, and that is what the seed field is for. The layout is drawn from the seed word, so the same seed with the same list, grid size and directions rebuilds the identical puzzle on any machine and any day. Write the seed down, or leave the list in this browser and it will still be there next time. Reroll gives you a new seed if you want a different arrangement of the same words, which is the quick way to make a second version for a class that sits together.
Does the printout give the answers away?
Not unless you ask it to. Print gives you one page, and on it the grid, the word bank, and a header line naming the puzzle and its seed so the same worksheet can be rebuilt later. Ticking the answer key box adds a second page after it, with the same grid marked and every word listed as a row, a column and a direction counted from the top left square, so you can print both and hand out only the first. On screen the Answer key button marks the grid and lists the positions, and there is a Copy button for the key as plain text.
What are the limits on the grid and the word list?
The grid is 5 to 40 squares on a side, and the list takes up to 120 words after blanks and repeats are removed. A word has to be at least two letters, because a single letter would match almost anywhere in a filled grid. Entries are read one per line, or separated by commas or semicolons. Every entry goes into the grid in capitals with punctuation removed, an accent mark comes off its letter rather than taking the letter with it, and a two-word entry like ice cream goes in as one run of letters the way a printed puzzle always shows it. An entry with no letters at all, like 123, is reported rather than silently ignored.
Can words run backwards and diagonally?
All eight directions are toggles: across both ways, down, up, and the four diagonals. The tool opens with the four that read forwards, which suits a younger class, and All eight makes the hardest version. Each direction you leave on also gives every word more places to start, so a crowded list often places more of its words at eight directions than at four.
Where do the other letters in the grid come from, and is anything uploaded?
The filler letters are drawn from the alphabet of your own words, not from the whole alphabet, so a Z or a Q that none of your words uses never appears and points at an answer by looking foreign. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account: the grid, the answer key and the printable sheet are all built in this browser, the word list, grid size, directions and seed are remembered here so the next session opens where you left it, and the Start over button at the top of the page forgets them.

Every word the grid accepted is really in it, in one of the directions you allowed, and any word that would not fit is listed by name rather than dropped. The same seed, word list and settings always rebuild the same puzzle.