Checked on October 26, 2026, by making puzzles where a tool allowed it and reading each tool's own pages and pricing. We make AI Worksheet Maker, one of the tools below. We say so up front, and we list where it falls short too.
A word search maker should take a word list and give you a puzzle you can print for your class, with the answers. Most of the free ones do that, but they differ on the things that slow a teacher down: whether you need an account, what prints at the bottom of the page, whether there's an answer key, and whether you get a PDF. We compared eight makers on those points.
The short version
| Maker | Account needed | Answer key | Printing |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Worksheet Maker | No | Free, on its own page | Print or save as PDF, or a Word file; one-line footer, no watermark |
| Discovery Education Puzzlemaker | No | Free, shown on screen | Browser print only |
| TheWordSearch.com | No | Free, in a PDF with the solution | PDF or image; small copyright footer |
| Super Teacher Worksheets | No, only to save | Free, as word positions | PDF; footer naming the generator |
| Word Search Labs | No | Free for the puzzle's maker | Browser print or save as PDF; no watermark |
| Education.com | Yes, to download | Separate download | PDF; free accounts have a monthly limit |
| Puzzel.org | Save first to print | Yes | 5 free sheets a month, with a Puzzel.org line |
| WordMint | Yes | For your own puzzles | Limited free printing; PDF and Word on the paid plan |
1. AI Worksheet Maker
Our word search generator needs no account. Type up to 20 words, or start from a theme such as Thanksgiving or winter, and pick a grade from kindergarten to 5th: the grade sets the grid size and the directions, from across and down for K–1 to every direction, backward too, for older students. Grids run from 10×10 to 20×20. The answer key prints on its own page with each word circled in red. You print the sheet or save it as a PDF from the print dialog, on Letter or A4, or download a Word file to edit. Free sheets carry a one-line "Made with aiworksheetmaker.com" footer; there is no watermark across the puzzle.
Where it falls short: 20 words is the most, there are no shaped grids or clip art, and there is no one-click PDF download, only the browser's Save as PDF. If you'd rather not make one at all, there are ready-made holiday word searches as PDFs, at three levels with answer keys.
2. Discovery Education Puzzlemaker
Puzzlemaker is the oldest name here and still free with no account. It takes up to 2,000 characters of words and grids up to 40 by 40, and it has an offensive-word filter. Words always go in any direction, backward included, which is hard for K–2 readers, and you can't limit them. The answer shows on screen with a button, and you print from the browser; there's no PDF file. The site carries ads; they are hidden when printing.
3. TheWordSearch.com
TheWordSearch.com needs no registration and gives you a PDF, a PDF with the solution, or an image. A puzzle needs 10 to 30 words of up to 14 letters, plus a title and a description, and every puzzle you make becomes public on the site. The printed page has a small copyright line and a link to play it online. Words run in all eight directions, with no easier setting.
4. Super Teacher Worksheets
The Super Teacher Worksheets generator makes unlimited word searches with no membership; you need one only to save them. It returns a PDF: the puzzle with a word bank, then a solution page and a page with the puzzle's details. There are three levels with fixed grids: Basic uses across and down, Intermediate adds diagonals and Advanced adds backward words. The solution lists where each word starts and which way it goes, rather than circling it in the grid. Every page has a footer naming the generator.
5. Word Search Labs
Word Search Labs is free, with no ads, no watermarks and no registration. It has the most options here: eight direction switches, about 30 shapes from a pumpkin to a heart, grids up to 100 by 100, and a clue mode where the word bank shows clues instead of answers. You print from the browser or save a PDF from the print dialog. The creator sees the answer key; a $9.95 lifetime membership unlocks keys for any puzzle and private puzzles.
6. Education.com
Education.com's word search generator takes up to 17 words on grids from 5×5 to 30×30, with about 30 decorative themes and an option for diagonal words. You can build a puzzle without signing in, but downloading it, or its answer key, needs an account, and free accounts have a monthly limit. Premium is $15.99 a month or $119.88 a year.
7. Puzzel.org
Puzzel.org lets you try its maker without an account, but you save the puzzle before you can print it. The free plan prints 5 sheets a month with a Puzzel.org line on the sheet; paid plans start at $35 a year and remove it. It has eight directions, an answer key, and an option to hide a solution word in the leftover letters.
8. WordMint
WordMint asks you to sign up before you make anything. It has clip art, fonts, diagonal and backward switches and many languages. The free plan has limited printing; saving a PDF or a Word file needs the Upgraded plan at $5.99 a month or $47.90 a year.
Other tools we looked at
- ProProfs Games makes word searches for playing online, with a timer and easy, medium and hard presets. It can print from the browser, but we found no answer key.
- edu-games.org offers a PDF with a solution page, on Letter or A4, with no account.
- Canva has word search templates you fill in by hand. We couldn't check its current pages, so we've left it out of the table.
Which one should you use?
- Fastest printable puzzle with a key, sized by grade: ours, or Super Teacher Worksheets if you want a ready PDF file.
- A one-click PDF with the solution: TheWordSearch.com, if you're happy for the puzzle to be public.
- Shapes, huge grids or clue mode: Word Search Labs.
- Very long word lists: Puzzlemaker, for older students who can handle every direction.
- Design with clip art and fonts: WordMint's paid plan.
For K–2, check that the maker lets you keep words across and down, and that the grid is small enough for a young reader to scan. For a whole class, an answer key on its own page saves the most time.