Free tool
Word Search Maker
Type your words, take a deck, or let AI pick the words from a YouTube lesson, a PDF or your notes. Choose the size and the directions, play the word search here, or print it with its key on a separate sheet.
- Free, no signup
- From a lesson or your own word list
- Print the puzzle and the key
A word search cannot be laid out for this writing system yet. Use the worksheet generator to make matching and fill-in-the-blank exercises from the same words.
Decks come from the flashcard tools on this site and are kept in this browser. No model is called for a deck.
No deck in this browser yet. Make one in the Flashcard Maker or the AI flashcard generator, or paste your words on the first tab. Open the Flashcard Maker →
The puzzle and the answer key print on separate sheets, in black and white, one page each at the default size. To keep a PDF, choose “Save as PDF” in the print dialog.
Turn your own lectures into puzzles, flashcards and quizzes — record them in the SozAI app.Get the app →
How it works
Word Search Maker in three steps
Add your words
Type or paste words, take a deck, or let AI pick them from a lesson.
Choose size and directions
Pick the grid, add diagonals and backwards, and decide what the word bank shows.
Play, print or share
Play online, print the puzzle and the key on separate sheets, or send a link.
What the word search maker does
Give it words and it hides them in a grid of letters. You can type or paste the list, take the cards of a deck you made in the flashcard tools, or point it at a lesson (a YouTube link, a PDF, pasted notes or a recording) and let an AI model pick the words. You play the word search on the page by dragging across the letters, print it, and print the key on its own sheet.
Words run across and down, and you can add diagonals and backwards. The other letters are drawn from the letters of your own words and from the alphabet of the language, and the page retries up to 40 fills so that no word appears a second time by accident. If one still does, either copy counts when found.
How teachers use it
- Paste the vocabulary of the unit, one word per line. Add a dash and a definition after each word if you want to use clues.
- Choose the size and the directions. Across and down only is the easy level; diagonals and backwards make it hard.
- For a vocabulary exercise, set the word bank to Show the clues instead. Students get the definitions and have to find the words, which is closer to recall than a plain search.
- Open Print, choose A4 or US Letter and print the puzzle. Print the key separately; it is a different sheet.
- Or send the link or embed the puzzle on the class page, so students can play it on a phone.
Limits, exactly
| Item | Limit |
|---|---|
| Words in one puzzle | Up to 30. More are listed as left out. |
| Length of a word | From 3 letters (2 characters in Japanese, Chinese and Korean) up to the side of the grid, at most 20. |
| Grid size | 10 × 10, 12 × 12, 15 × 15, 20 × 20, or Fit the words, which picks a square from 8 × 8 to 20 × 20. |
| Directions | Across always; down, diagonal and backwards are options. Eight directions in all. |
| Word bank | The words, the clues instead, or nothing. |
| What counts as a letter | Letters and digits. Spaces, hyphens and punctuation are dropped from the word. |
| Source for the AI | A YouTube link with captions, a PDF read in your browser (up to 50 MB), pasted text, or the first 5 minutes of a recording. Up to 60,000 characters of text; a longer source is cut down evenly from start to end. |
| Words the AI picks | 10, 15, 20 or 30. Each device can ask the AI for 10 word lists a day, because it runs on free models. |
| Share link | The words travel inside the link, up to 12,000 characters of encoded text. |
Arabic and Hebrew grids run right to left. Thai letters keep their vowel and tone marks in one cell. In Japanese, Chinese and Korean the filler is made of common kanji, hanzi or syllables of the right kind, never letters of another script.
A word search made by this tool
This word search was made by the tool from a real lecture, with nothing edited by hand. The source is the transcript of 2. Thermodynamics Part 2, a lecture from MIT OpenCourseWare published under a Creative Commons license. The AI picked the terms; the page hid them in the grid.
| L | M | J | O | U | L | E | E | X | P | A | N | S | I | O | N | E | P | E |
| S | E | C | R | O | F | E | T | A | G | U | J | N | O | C | A | C | M | N |
| N | E | E | L | T | Q | N | P | U | T | J | I | Q | N | D | P | N | U | I |
| E | R | A | A | N | N | U | G | N | Y | E | A | A | I | I | E | A | I | J |
| E | E | E | M | R | N | E | L | R | A | T | Y | A | C | E | M | K | R | R |
| C | N | E | E | N | A | T | M | E | S | I | B | A | A | N | E | E | B | M |
| W | S | A | C | L | N | I | T | E | O | A | U | E | T | E | T | A | I | E |
| Z | T | T | N | E | M | E | T | A | T | S | S | U | I | S | U | A | L | C |
| N | D | A | S | S | I | E | R | I | E | A | V | H | U | R | S | U | I | A |
| I | A | L | M | T | O | T | C | C | T | N | T | E | Q | T | E | N | U | N |
| O | S | V | I | A | T | W | E | N | A | B | A | S | U | T | E | U | Q | G |
| E | E | O | A | N | A | S | E | R | E | K | A | E | N | A | A | L | E | R |
| A | S | A | G | L | A | E | D | I | N | E | U | G | G | I | A | R | T | A |
| I | N | E | L | R | Q | E | E | A | E | L | E | R | R | E | V | E | N | N |
| Y | S | S | E | G | B | B | T | N | E | N | T | R | O | P | Y | L | A | U |
| M | U | T | Y | G | R | E | N | E | L | A | N | R | E | T | N | I | E | M |
| M | U | I | R | B | I | L | I | U | Q | E | L | A | M | R | E | H | T | K |
| I | N | E | V | N | A | S | A | E | A | A | U | I | Y | G | M | G | I | N |
| I | R | L | E | T | E | C | A | R | N | O | T | E | N | G | I | N | E | E |
- ADIABATIC WALLS
- CARNOT ENGINE
- CLAUSIUS STATEMENT
- CONJUGATE FORCES
- ENTROPY
- EQUILIBRIUM
- IDEAL GAS
- INTERNAL ENERGY
- JOULE EXPANSION
- KELVIN STATEMENT
- THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM
Answer key
| L | M | J | O | U | L | E | E | X | P | A | N | S | I | O | N | E | P | E |
| S | E | C | R | O | F | E | T | A | G | U | J | N | O | C | A | C | M | N |
| N | E | E | L | T | Q | N | P | U | T | J | I | Q | N | D | P | N | U | I |
| E | R | A | A | N | N | U | G | N | Y | E | A | A | I | I | E | A | I | J |
| E | E | E | M | R | N | E | L | R | A | T | Y | A | C | E | M | K | R | R |
| C | N | E | E | N | A | T | M | E | S | I | B | A | A | N | E | E | B | M |
| W | S | A | C | L | N | I | T | E | O | A | U | E | T | E | T | A | I | E |
| Z | T | T | N | E | M | E | T | A | T | S | S | U | I | S | U | A | L | C |
| N | D | A | S | S | I | E | R | I | E | A | V | H | U | R | S | U | I | A |
| I | A | L | M | T | O | T | C | C | T | N | T | E | Q | T | E | N | U | N |
| O | S | V | I | A | T | W | E | N | A | B | A | S | U | T | E | U | Q | G |
| E | E | O | A | N | A | S | E | R | E | K | A | E | N | A | A | L | E | R |
| A | S | A | G | L | A | E | D | I | N | E | U | G | G | I | A | R | T | A |
| I | N | E | L | R | Q | E | E | A | E | L | E | R | R | E | V | E | N | N |
| Y | S | S | E | G | B | B | T | N | E | N | T | R | O | P | Y | L | A | U |
| M | U | T | Y | G | R | E | N | E | L | A | N | R | E | T | N | I | E | M |
| M | U | I | R | B | I | L | I | U | Q | E | L | A | M | R | E | H | T | K |
| I | N | E | V | N | A | S | A | E | A | A | U | I | Y | G | M | G | I | N |
| I | R | L | E | T | E | C | A | R | N | O | T | E | N | G | I | N | E | E |
What stays in your browser
A typed list, a pasted list and a deck never leave your browser: the grid, the playing and the printing run on this page and no model is called. A share link keeps the words after the # sign, which browsers do not send to any server. The AI path is different. The text of your source, with its title or file name, is sent to a free AI model to pick the words and write the clues, and the finished list is kept on our server for up to 30 days so that the same source gives the same list at once. The words the AI picks are also saved as a deck in your browser.
Answers
Word search maker: frequently asked questions
Is the word search maker free?
Yes, and it needs no account. A word search from a typed list or a deck has no limit, because nothing is sent anywhere. Picking words with AI runs on free models, so each device can do it 10 times a day.
Can the words go diagonally and backwards?
Yes. Across is always on. Down, Diagonal and Backwards are checkboxes, and with all of them on a word can run in any of eight directions.
Can I use clues instead of a word list?
Yes. Type each word with a dash and a definition, then set the word bank to Show the clues instead. Students see the definitions and must find the words in the grid. That works as a vocabulary exercise, not only as a puzzle.
How many words can I use, and how big is the grid?
Up to 30 words, in a grid of 10, 12, 15 or 20 squares, or let the page choose the smallest square that holds them. A word longer than the grid is listed as left out.
Can I print the word search and the key?
Yes. Print opens the puzzle on A4 or US Letter in black and white, with name and date lines. The key, with every word marked, prints on a separate sheet. To keep a PDF, choose Save as PDF in the print dialog. You can also download either sheet as a PNG image.
Can I make a word search from a YouTube video or a PDF?
Yes. Open From a lesson, paste the link or choose the PDF, and the AI picks 10 to 30 terms. Check the list before you print, because the model can be wrong. Videos need captions, and a scanned PDF without a text layer cannot be read.
Can students play it on a phone?
Yes. Drag a finger across the letters of a word, or tap its first and its last letter. Found words are marked and struck out in the word bank. Share or embed gives a link and an iframe code for a class page.
Does it work for languages other than English?
Yes. It handles Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic, Hebrew, Thai, Hangul, kanji and kana words, and the grid runs right to left for Arabic and Hebrew.
Study from your own lectures
Record a lecture in the SozAI app and get the transcript, a summary, flashcards and a quiz from it — with spaced repetition on your phone.
Free on iOS and Android. 30 minutes of transcription included, no card.
