Printable word search maker: PDF sheets on any theme

Make a printable word search as a PDF in your browser: twenty themes, a mixed list or the kids list, grids from 10×10 to 20×20, up to six puzzles and an optional solution page, on A4 or Letter. No app, no sign-up and no upload; once loaded the page works offline, and every control can be reached from the keyboard.

How to print a word search

1. Pick a theme: any of the twenty, Mixed for words from every theme, or Kids for short, simple words.
2. Choose the grid size: 10×10, 12×12, 15×15 or 20×20.
3. Choose how many grids to make, from one to six, one per page.
4. Leave the solution page on for an answer key with every word circled, or switch it off.
5. Pick A4 or Letter, then create the PDF and download or open it.
6. Print at 100 percent, or save the file to print later.

Choosing the right printable word search

Grid size does most of the work on a printed sheet. A 10×10 sheet holds 8 words and suits younger readers or a five-minute warm-up. A 12×12 holds 12 words and is the comfortable default for most ages. A 15×15 with 18 words is a proper sit-down puzzle, and a 20×20 with 28 words fills the page for a keen solver.

The theme matters almost as much. Kitchen, garden, colors and food use mostly short everyday words. Jobs and fruits have the longest, PHOTOGRAPHER and PASSIONFRUIT at twelve letters: easy to see, but many share an ending. Countries, science and weather fit naturally into lessons, and the kids list keeps to words of three to five letters.

Words on themed sheets run in eight directions, including backwards and diagonal, and may cross. That is the classic puzzle, but it can frustrate a beginner. For early readers, choose Kids, whose words run only forwards: across, down and the two diagonals to the right.

For a class, print the puzzle pages once per student and the solution page once for yourself. For a car journey or a rainy afternoon, six puzzles on one theme make a small booklet.

What is on a printable word search sheet

The PDF is built on your device and nothing is uploaded. The same sheet code, theme and size always give the same grids, so a sheet can be made again later.

• A title with the theme and sheet code.
• A one-line instruction.
• The letter grid in a thin frame, one grid per page.
• The words to find, in alphabetical order, each with a tick box.
• Solution pages at the end, with every word circled.

Same puzzles as the online word search

Sheets use the same generator as the online game: each word placed exactly once, none inside another. Every theme also plays online, with hints and stats.

Plays anywhere, no app, no account

The maker runs on phones too; Share or Print in the PDF viewer sends the file to a printer. Tidy Puzzles runs entirely in your browser: there is no app to install, no account to create and no interstitial before you can play. After the first visit the game also works offline, because each puzzle is generated on your device from a seed. Every board can be played with the keyboard alone, on a phone or a desktop, and your stats and unfinished puzzles stay in this browser rather than on a server.