Puzzle Creator: (example: Mrs. Jones)
Enter your word list in the box below.
- Use a comma or press enter between words.
- Minimum word length: 3 letters
- Maximum word length: 16 letters
- Recommended number of words: 20
Level — Intermediate
· 18 x 12 grid
· Words hidden across, down, and diagonally
· No backwards words
· Medium font size
· Recommended for grades 2 — 4
Please note:
- There may be a limit to the number and lengths of words hidden. If you have too many words or your words are too long, they may be left out of the puzzle. Please check your puzzle carefully to make sure all of your words are there.
- Our word search generator uses a basic word filter to prevent the accidental, random creation of offensive words. When you create your puzzle, please check it over it carefully to be sure unintended words were not added by our random letter generator.
STW members are able to save their worksheets. You are not currently logged in and will not be able to save this file.
Sample Word Search Puzzle Generator Images
Below are two examples of beginner and intermediate Word Searches! The Word Search Maker creates the puzzle page as well as a solution page.
Make your own word search puzzles with the Word Search Maker! This easy-to-use tool allows you to provide your own word list and create custom word searches in minutes. You can then download and print them instantly, or play online the pre-made puzzles right away. So get creative and have some fun!
How do you create custom Word Search Puzzles?
It’s easy! Just provide your word list and the Word Search Maker will create a puzzle for you.
- Enter your words into the text box provided. Make sure to add no more than 30 words.
- Select the theme or topics of your word search.
- Words should only include letters from a-z – uppercase or lowercase. You can use space and dash but these will be omitted while searching for your word search.
- Make sure not to use any personal information if you want your puzzles added to our database.
- When you are ready, click on “Regenerate” and the word search will be generated for you.
- If you want to download and print your word search puzzle, just click on “Download PDF.” The word search will be downloaded as a PDF file which you can then print.
NOTE: These are randomly generated words so be sure to proofread carefully before using. You can also regenerate the puzzle with new array of words.
Free word search maker with images or text hints
from Tools for Educators: These worksheet makers are light, easy to use, but very powerful. Make work searches for kids, elementary school, phonics programs, language classes and more.
You can use text for your puzzle hint: find the same word, unscramble the word and find it, read a clue for the puzzle word, or use your own ideas. It’s up to you.
word search maker: text only
You can use images as the puzzle hints: choose an image category below and type the word you want entered into the puzzle. The maker will generate a puzzle with your image choices below.
— if you want to make a word search with clues, use the text only generator above. There is an option to include free text instead of the puzzle word as a hint!
— if you want a crossword and word search together on the same page, use the crossword maker.
You can use up to 16 images for your word search with images. You can use less by just using 8, 12 or any lower number. The maker will generate a puzzle based on what you enter.
These word search makers are free word searches to print that you can use online to make personalized word searches with images as hints. You can select the image you want to use and type in any text for that picture you’d like. So, you can choose from 1,000s of images to create the perfect word search for school, home use, parties, waiting rooms, anything.
These can handle some foreign languages as well. So, I hope French, LOTE, Spanish teachers and more can use the word search creator for their classes as well.
End User License Agreement: You are free to use any resource created from this site as an end user and MES grants you an End User License with the following restrictions: You may not redistribute, copy, modify, transfer, transmit, repackage, re-engineer, charge for, or sell any of the materials from this site. You may use photocopies or printouts for the purposes of distributing them for free to your students. MES reserves the right to terminate or make changes to this agreement for any reason and without notice.
Copyright © 2005 — 2023 Tools for Educators and MES English | privacy
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Title:
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Instructions:
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These word search puzzles were made here! -
Our MOST ASKED QUESTION:
How do I make multi-word entries?
Colorado Springs
I Have a Dream
United States, etc.
It’s simple! Click the video —>
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Make «Hidden Message» Word Searches!
Watch our video to learn how you can create a puzzle inside of a puzzle, commonly called a Hidden Message Word Search puzzle!Please SUBSCRIBE to our
- Do you want UPPERCASE or lowercase? We’ve always had that ability! It is in the blue menu after making the puzzle under «Advanced Options…» we have LOTS of options in that menu. We get asked everyday for options that are already there! Don’t cheat yourself out of the perfect puzzle by not looking for it in the blue menu on the left.
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Rows
(10-50)
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Columns
(10-50)
- Grid styles
- Language
- Word Placement
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Show Grid Lines
Yes
No -
Place Word List:
Hide word list
Sort word list alphabetically
- # of columns for word list if ‘Bottom’ list is chosen above.
- TIP: Use the «Fun Options» for neat options like:
1. Hide «WordSearchPuzzle» but show «Word Search Puzzle» in the word list! and
2. Hide «SantaClaus» but show «Who visits on Christmas?»
Watch the video below for more fun tips!
Choose up to 3 fonts + Arial (default)
Check out our «Fun Options» video, then click the button below!
I understand that by clicking «Fun Options» below, it will lock out my word list above to further changes, and saving options will be unavailable.
Fun Options
Here is a list of best free word search maker software for Windows. These software let you create word search puzzles for kids and students. These lets you enter a grid size for puzzle i.e. number of rows and columns. You can then add desired words which you want to include in the output word search puzzles. A few of these even provide an option to create wordlist from text or HTML file and include it in the final puzzle. Most of these provide a lot of puzzle customization options including word directions, title and narrative, text color, circle color, footer image, font, etc. You can also include solution in final output puzzle and customize solution format.
The final puzzle can be directly printed in all of these word search puzzle makers. Many of these also let you export final puzzle in PDF, SVG, PNG, BMP, JPG, GIF, etc. formats.
My Favorite Word Search Maker Software For Windows:
Word Search Creator by Matthew Wellings is my favorite word search maker for Windows. It provides a lot of puzzle customization options along with a few handy features like wordlist creator, various export formats, etc.
You may also like some best free Jigsaw Puzzle Maker, Word Guessing Games, and Maze Maker Software for Windows.
Word Search Creator by Matthew Wellings
Word Search Creator by Matthew Wellings is a free open source word search maker software for Windows. You can create a grid with number of rows and columns and then create a word search puzzle for it. It provides a lot of puzzle customization options plus supports a good number of output formats.
The main features of this word search puzzle maker are as follows:
- You can customize word search by changing grid shape (mask drawer), setting allowed directions, etc.
- It provides a wordlist creator which can create a list of words from HTML and text files. For this, you can specify max number of words and minimum and maximum word length. The wordlist can be sorted in alphabetical, word length, etc. orders. You can use this wordlist to create word search puzzle. Else, you can enter words manually too.
- You can customize output puzzle by enabling show answer option.
- It lets you customize font and color of title, word search, and wordlist. Also, you can set grid color, background color, and highlight color.
- You can customize page layout and edit footer too.
- The final word search puzzle can be exported as PDF or SVG file or can be directly printed. You can also copy puzzle as an image and paste it in any photo editor.
Word Search Creator by Canopus-Ware
Word Search Creator by , as the name suggests, is a free word search maker software for Windows. In it, you can create word search puzzle of a grid containing 8 to 20 rows and column. Here are some of its features which lets you customize word search grid and help you create a word search puzzle easily:
- It lets you manually add words to create a word search puzzle, or you can even import a text, DOC, or HTML file to do the same. A maximum of 40 words can be added to a word search puzzle.
- You can choose word search directions to create a puzzle.
- It lets you place random letters to the word search grid to camouflage the words.
- You can add a puzzle name too which will be included in the output.
- After creating a word search puzzle, you can directly print it or save it in its native format.
Allin all, it is a nice and simple yet effective word search puzzle maker software.
FindThatWord
FindThatWord is a free open source word search maker software in this list. Here is the step by step procedure to create word search puzzle using this software:
- First, create a new puzzle and enable “Force grid size to” option and enter number of rows and columns.
- Now, type title of puzzle, narrative, and add words in one by one manner. You can add a hidden message too.
- It lets you select what elements to show in output word search puzzle including Title and narrative, Word list, Grid, and Solution.
- You can now save word search puzzle in its native format or export it as a PDF, SVG, PNG, or text file.
Word Search Maker
Word Search Maker is yet another free word search puzzle maker software for Windows. All word search puzzle customization options are provided on its main screen. You can specify grid size, words, and word directions to create a word search puzzle. Furthermore, you can also format puzzle by entering puzzle title, text color, grid color, footer image, word list position, etc. It lets you customize solution format too by customizing text color, circle color, footer image, title, etc. The preview of puzzle and solution can be seen on its main interface.
The final word search puzzle can be saved as a PDF file or can be directly printed. You also have the flexibility to save puzzle and solution separately as an image (BMP, GIF, PNG, TIFF, JPG).
Note: You will need a license key to unlock this software everytime you launch it. The license key is provided on the homepage which is given below.
Wordsearch Maker Junior
Wordsearch Maker Junior is a simple software to create word search puzzles. It has a fixed size grid (8×8) which is used in word search puzzle. The process of creating a word search puzzle is simple. First, you need to select a box in the grid and then right click on it to select a direction for word search. After that, you can type the word on the left side. Repeat this process to add multiple words to your puzzle. After creating word search puzzle, simply print it or save it as PDF using Options > Print option.
Word Search Generator UWP
Word Search Generator UWP is a free word search maker app for Windows 10. It lets you type a custom word list and specify grid width and height and filler letters to create a word search puzzle. You can customize output by enabling show puzzle, show answer, or show answer mark option and allow up to the right direction option. You can save the output puzzle as an image in PNG format or save it as a text file.
You can regenerate the puzzle to change the word positions.
Word Search Puzzle Maker
Word Search Puzzle Maker is a straightforward and basic word search puzzle maker for Windows. It provides separate tabs to add words and to create a word search puzzle using those words. Just add all words in Words tab; at most, 21 words can be added to a single word search puzzle. Then, move to Word Search tab to create word search puzzle. From here, you can save puzzle as PNG, BMP, or JPG image or you can print it. That’s it. You don’t get any customization options in it.
Published Date: 19 Aug, 2018
Modified Date: 17 Aug, 2018
Make Your Own Word Search Puzzle
Create a word search for free online
The Spruce / Bailey Mariner
Word search makers make it easy to create your own puzzles online for free. Whether you’re creating a word search puzzle for kids, adults, or yourself, you’ll find these free word search makers easy to use, and they’ll leave you with a great customized puzzle. Not only are these great to use with your kids at home, but they are also excellent to use in the classroom. You can create word searches to help your students study and learn new vocabulary.
Each of the listed word search makers works a bit differently, so be sure to read the directions before you get started. They all make it incredibly easy to make a word find, and you’ll be surprised by the quality of the puzzle you’ll get when you’re done.
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Discovery PuzzleMaker
Discovery Education
Discovery Puzzlemaker helps you to make word search puzzles in 6 easy steps. The puzzle can be 40 letters by 40 letters large and still fit on a page, but they recommend using 15 letters by 15 letters. You also can adjust the difficulty level by sharing letters as often or as infrequently as possible. When finished, you can create the word search puzzle as HTML, uppercase text, or lowercase text.
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A to Z Teacher Stuff
A to Z Teacher Stuff
This site offers quite a few options for customization. You can set the placement of the word list on the right or the left side of the puzzle, determine the numbers of rows and columns (up to 50), and set the style of the grid and font. You also can choose the word placement, including forward and backward words, to make the word search puzzle easier or more challenging. The finished product is a nice-looking puzzle that even has a place for a name and date.
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PuzzleFast
PuzzleFast
PuzzleFast is so easy to use you can make a word search in just a few minutes, and the answer sheet is printed out right along with the puzzle. The site also offers tools to make crosswords, word jumbles, number searches, and matching worksheets.
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SuperKids
SuperKids
SuperKids requires you to enter your words, choose a grid height and width, and decide whether you want to have an easy puzzle or a hard one that will put some of the words backward throughout the puzzle. The final puzzle looks very nice and is great for kids or adults to complete. There’s a name and date section at the top.
Continue to 5 of 13 below.
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ProProfs
ProProfs
ProProfs generates a word search puzzle to be completed online instead of being printed. You get to input the words for the puzzle, the title, a description, and keywords. You’ll also choose a difficulty level and the maximum time a user has to complete the puzzle, ranging from 5 to 60 minutes. ProProfs also offers the uncommon option to fetch words from a web page instead of entering your own. Just enter a URL and the puzzle will be populated with words taken from that page. You’ll have to register with ProProfs before you can build a word search puzzle, but doing so is completely free.
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EdCreate
EdCreate
EdCreate.com is super easy to use. Simply enter a page title for the puzzle, the number of rows and columns of letters, the directions you want the words to go (like diagonally, sideways, etc.), whether you want the words uppercase or lowercase, and the words you want to be included in the final puzzle. The puzzle that’s generated after you choose your options looks great and is great to use in the classroom or just for fun.
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Tools for Educators
Tools for Educators
A nice feature for this word search maker is that you can have the hint be something other than the word in the puzzle to make it more challenging. You also get to choose whether you want the puzzle to be uppercase or lowercase, if it should include diagonal words or not, the type of font to use, and the grid size.
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Puzzle-Maker
Puzzle-Maker
This is a no-frills word search maker where you only have to enter your words in the text area and then choose how many letters you want in the columns and the rows of the puzzle. You can select up to 50 for either. The final puzzle is simple but has nice even rows and columns making it easy on the eyes.
Continue to 9 of 13 below.
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Super Teacher Worksheets
Super Teacher Worksheets
One last word search maker you may like is from Super Teacher Worksheets. It’s easy to set up and the options don’t cause any confusion. Start by choosing a difficulty level to immediately change some of the options, like the maximum word lengths and the grid size. Then pick a title and creator name before you enter the words that should be used in the puzzle. One option lets you alphabetize the word list. Another adds different worksheet headers to the game, like a name only or a name plus the date or class period. When finished building the puzzle, you’re given a few pages to print off, including the answer key and the game itself.
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Teachnology
Teachnology
If you’re looking for a simple word search maker that will generate a quick puzzle without any hassles, this should be your pick. All you need to do is enter a title and then up to 20 words to get your puzzle. The site creates a very nice looking puzzle that has a place on the top for a name and date.
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ABCya
ABCya
This is a nice Flash-based word search maker that helps you create a puzzle through an easy three-step interactive wizard. You can print the puzzle or play it online. After naming your puzzle, you can choose between uppercase or lowercase letters and a 15×15 or 10×10 gameboard. You can enter up to 10 or 15 words into this puzzle, depending on the size of your game board.
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The Teacher’s Corner
The Teacher’s Corner
The Teacher’s Corner has all of the same options as most of the others on this list. The rows and columns for these puzzles can have up to 50 letters each, you can choose a custom grid style, word placement can be adjusted, grid lines can be hidden, and the word list can be positioned on the bottom or right side of the game. You choose where the word list goes on the page and you can choose to hide it or sort it alphabetically. You can choose from a variety of fonts for your word search puzzle. Word puzzles made at The Teacher’s Corner can be printed off in PDF or PNG formats or played online. If playing online, you can quickly see the answers with just one click of a button. If you need some help creating a puzzle, there are several videos here that walk you through the process.
Continue to 13 of 13 below.
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Fun Brain
Fun Brain
This word search maker is very easy to use and gives you a nice-looking puzzle both online and offline. Before you enter your words, you get to pick from four levels of difficulty, each with support for a different number of words and different maximum word lengths.
Carol Yepes / Getty Images
To make a word search, enter your list of words in the large area provided. You can type these by hand or paste them in from another document, such as a word processing document or a spreadsheet. Just make sure that you have one word per line.
Next, enter values for the height (letters down) and width (letters across) of the generated puzzle. Our worksheet generator will tell you if it can’t fit all your words into the area you entered. If that happens, make the puzzle bigger by entering higher values for «down» and «across».
If you want to use a short phrase such as «lunch box» you may do so, but be aware that it will show up in the word search puzzle without the space between the words, like «lunchbox».
When you have finished entering words, hit the CREATE button to see a preview of your worksheet. You can select the ANSWER KEY tab to the right to see where your words actually appear. If you’re not happy with the layout, you can hit the SCRAMBLE button to generate a different layout.
You can also change the size of the word search puzzle and then hit CREATE again to see how it looks.
The layout only allows for a maximum of 17 words.
The word search maker
Using the online word search maker is as easy as entering the first words that come to mind around a certain topic and let the word search generator do the rest!
The generator creates the word search in real-time, so you can directly see the result of your input.
Changing directions and difficulty
Changing the difficulty and look of your word search can be done in various ways. The free version allows you to change the ‘Size’ and the ‘Directions’ via the Settings-tab.
Increasing or decreasing the word search grid size can tune the difficulty up or down and it can help with the space that the puzzle takes up on the screen.
The directions can be turned on or off individually. The diagonal directions (southwest/northwest/etc..) are the most difficult to find, so if you want to make the word search a little easier, disable those.
Vary between field shapes
If you want to surprise your players, you can opt for the ‘Field shape’ feature via the Premium-tab. This allows you to deviate from the default square grid and generate a word search with all kinds of shapes: ‘Smiley’, ‘Diamond’, ‘Circle’, ‘Cross’, ‘Pyramid’ and ‘Star’
To create the best look, experiment with the ‘Size’ from the Settings-tab as well, since the distribution of the cells might improve further!
Changing the hint type to ‘Questions’
If you want to spice up the word search puzzle and make it a bit more educational/challenging, you can change the Premium ‘Type of Word Search’ to ‘Questions’
This way, the player does not directly see the answers to look for, but only the questions/descriptions describing the answer! A cool way to experiment with alternative educational material 
Solving word searches as a team
Generating interactive puzzles that can be played in teams is of course even more fun! The ‘Play in teams’ option on the Premium-tab does just that.
After setting up the teams and starting the word search battle, the team members are connected digitally causing correctly given answers to by synchronised automatically to the other team members.
The word search owner (probably you!) has a cool control room via the Premium-tab that shows the progress of each team, so you can determine who finishes first!
Force a new word search field every time
If you want to make sure that your word search is unique every time it gets played, enable the Premium feature ‘Allow regenerating puzzle’. This way the word search generator is activated each time the player opens up the puzzle and thus gets a unique puzzle every time.
Adding a countdown timer
In combination with the Premium ‘Use countdown timer’, you can create the ultimate repeatable puzzle challenge. Find all the answers within 60 seconds.
Players can reset their puzzle after they have finished, and then try again!
Hiding any hints
You can also hide the hints altogether via the ‘Hide Hints’ Premium feature, this way the player will have no idea what to look for, making it even more challenging and for some, fun :).
The other option is to show the hints below the word search puzzle, which could make it a bit more compact for smaller screens.
Choosing your own character set
Each language has their own unique character sets, and so the word search generator should be able to include those characters in the randomly generated cells. The ‘Character List’ option on the Premium-tab does exactly that.
You can include any character you like, allowing you to create Chinese puzzles, other foreign language characters, like (ë and á) and any character you can think of.
Adding row and column numbers
Solving word searches in virtual meetings or via central digital school boards can be tough since communicating where you see a word is not really easy by default.
But the solution is here! Enable the Premium ‘Show numbers’ and each row and column will get their own number, making it easy to call out character coordinates and allowing for central play!
Integrating a hidden solution
Adding a hidden solution to a word search puzzle is not the easiest feature to implement since we have to work with randomly inserted words by you, the puzzle creator and this leaves random amounts of ‘open’ puzzle cells.
But, there is hope! The Settings > Hidden solution field has some nifty helper features to put you on the right track and to make sure that the puzzle is solvable. To do this, it coaches you while you are entering the hidden solution.
The hidden solution will either be a perfect fit, or too short, or too long. Whenever it is too short, it will show you which characters could not fit. You can use this info to increase the size of the grid, or by removing a word so that more space is available for the hidden solution. When it is too long, it will mention how many characters your hidden solution needs to add in order for it to fill up all the remaining squares.
Introducing ‘fancy select’
If you want to make your word search feel extra special with the latest modern interactions, then enabling ‘Fancy select’ on the Premium-tab is the way to go.
For desktop computers, it will allow you to see the direction you are hovering the mouse in and thus get a better feel for the word that you are selecting. Together with friendly colours and a rounded design, this might feel more user-friendly.
On mobile devices you will be able to use the regular pattern of clicking on the start and end squares.
Removing the borders
If you want to give the word search a modern look, you can choose to disable the ‘Show borders’ option on the Premium-tab, under the Custom styling options.
Since the borders between the text cells are now removed, it feels more like it belongs together and there is less space wasted to the unnecessary. Might make it easier to see words too!
Check out the sample puzzle
Discover how this puzzle type looks in practice by viewing and playing the sample puzzle (opens in a new tab)
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READING WORKSHEET GENERATOR
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WORD SEARCH
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Word Search Maker for Kids
Turtle Diary’s Free Word Search Generator allows you to create Free Printable Word Searches for kids. Whether you need a fun way to recognize sight words or practice spelling words, the Word Search puzzle Maker can be used to create either a free printable or a game your kids can play online and find the hidden words.
Use your own word list or choose ‘spelling words’ or ‘sight words’ and a grade level for an age-appropriate list of suggestions from which you can pick and choose. For more advanced learners, the word searches can be customized for larger grid sizes, upper or lower case, and grade-appropriate levels of difficulty.
You can even use synonyms or antonyms, or create your own clues to make the puzzle suit your needs. To use, first choose a title for your word search and add a description to explain exactly what you want your student to do. Then, from the next dropdowns, select your letter case (depending on age-level and letter recognition) and the size of the grid you prefer.
The older the student, the larger the grid to increase the difficulty. If you need suggestions of words to find, you can use the suggestion box in the middle of the page to customize by grade level, type of clue, and category of word. Or, if you know what you want to use, simply type it in the numbered table below. After hitting create, you have the option to print your word search or play it online.
Turtle Diary’s Free Word Search Creator allows you to create a fun way for your students to learn while increasing their word knowledge and recognition.
How do I create my own word search?
You can create your own word search for free on Turtle Diary using the Word Search Puzzle Generator. This word search maker for kids allows you to control all of the details, like grid size, title, case of letters, and can even use clues or synonyms and antonyms for more advanced learners. It even has an option to suggest words to use! When you’re finished entering details, all you have to do is push a button, and you have your own printable word search!
Are there free word search printables?
Yes! Turtle Diary offers a free word search maker with lots of customizable options that you can use for a variety of lessons. With this word search creator, you make your own printables with whatever words you choose or it can generate age-appropriate word choices. This gives you the flexibility to print a variety of different puzzles using whatever words your kids need to practice.
Is the Word Search Creator free?
Yes! It is absolutely free! It offers lots of customizable options for each creator so that you can create your own word search for kids using the words that they need to practice. When you’re finished entering the words or selecting your suggested words, you simply hit the ‘Create’ button and a free word search printable is made just for you!
Can I play the word search online after creating it?
Yes, you can play the word search online as soon as you hit the ‘create’ button or you can choose to print it out. There is a button that appears on the bottom of the screen of the word search maker for kids that allows you to play online as soon as you create your puzzle. This is a great option for kids who love to play online and need to practice their spelling or sight words.
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