How to make a custom word search from your spelling list

Spelling and vocabulary lists change every week, and finding a printable that uses exactly your words is nearly impossible. Making your own used to mean graph paper and an hour. Now it takes about a minute.

Step by step

1. Go to the puzzle maker and sign in. Every account gets 10 free credits a month.
2. Choose Word search (or Crossword if you want kids to think about meanings).
3. Pick the age. This sets the grid size and which directions words can run: left to right only for Pre-K, diagonal and backwards for older grades.
4. Paste your word list instead of a topic. You can paste up to 60 words.
5. Click make. You get a one-page puzzle with the answer key on the next page.
6. Print, or let kids solve it on screen.

Tip: For crosswords, the clues are written for the age you pick, so a second grader gets simple picture-it clues and a seventh grader gets real definitions.

Going further with the same list

Once you have a list, you can get a whole week of practice out of it:

• A spelling practice pack: look-say-cover-write-check, ABC order, unscramble, missing letters and word shapes. Spelling packs.
• Tracing sheets for younger kids. Handwriting.
• Flashcards with the word on one side and a definition on the other. Flashcards.
• Bingo for a Friday review game, up to 40 different cards. Bingo cards.

Why not just use a free generator?

Basic generators place words in a grid and that’s it. Puzzld checks that the words suit the age you picked, writes kid-appropriate clues for crosswords, keeps grids readable, and lays everything out as a clean PDF with the key on a separate page so you can print just the student copies.