Free word search maker and printables

Hard Word Search Puzzles

Expert puzzles with long words in all 8 directions and look-alike filler letters, to solve on screen or print.

Hard Word Search is a free tool that makes word search puzzles at its hardest settings, ready to play on screen or print. It runs in your web browser, with no sign-up and no download. The page opens on a 20×20 grid at Expert difficulty, using 58 long words from the Big words topic, such as Serendipity, Quintessential and Juxtaposition. You can change the grid size, word count, topic and difficulty, or type in your own words. Each new puzzle keeps the settings you chose, so you can keep solving, print copies for a class or group, or share the exact puzzle with a friend.
  1. Open the page. It starts at 20×20, Expert, with the Big words topic.
  2. Set Grid size to a larger grid for more places to hide words. The biggest is 30×30.
  3. Choose a Topic. Pick one of the 64 ready-made lists, My own words, or Random topic.
  4. Set Number of words, from 4 to 60.
  5. Under Difficulty, choose Hard or Expert. Hard allows all eight directions and crossing words. Expert also fills the grid with look-alike letters.
  6. Open More options to change Letter case or Word list order, turn on Hide the word list, or add a Hidden message of up to 40 characters.
  7. Play by clicking or tapping the first letter and then the last letter of each word. Use Hint or Show answers when you need help.
  8. When you are ready to print, open the Print panel to set copies, paper size and answer keys.

With a keyboard, the arrow keys move and Enter or Space marks a letter. With a mouse, you can also drag across a word. The status line shows how many words you have found and a timer. Use Next puzzle for a new grid with the same settings, and Copy link to share the exact puzzle.

What makes a word search hard?

A word search gets harder when each word has more places to hide and more letters that look like it. This tool combines several of these factors: more directions (backwards, up and diagonals), crossing words, a grid of up to 30×30, up to 60 words, look-alike filler on Expert, long or unfamiliar words, and lower case, where b, d, p and q look alike.

The demo puzzle shows several of these together. It is a 20×20 Expert grid with 30 words. AMBIGUOUS starts in row 18, column 13 and runs bottom to top. RECALCITRANT starts in row 9, column 14 and runs top to bottom. BELLIGERENT starts in row 19, column 16 and runs bottom to top. Two of these three read upwards, against the way most people scan, so the direction becomes part of the challenge.

How do I make a word search harder?

Raise the grid size, the word count and the difficulty, and choose longer words. A bigger grid gives each word more places to hide, and more words mean more crossings, so a letter you have already used may belong to a second word. On Expert, the filler letters come from the hidden words’ own letters, so the whole grid looks alike and no odd letter stands out. Long words also help, because a solver has to check more letters in a row before ruling a line out.

One rule keeps the puzzle fair. Every hidden word appears exactly once in the grid. A word that sits inside a longer word, such as CAT inside CATERPILLAR, counts only where it was placed.

Can I hide the word list?

Yes. Turn on Hide the word list under More options, and the printed puzzle says only “Find 18 words” (or whatever the number is) instead of listing the words. Solvers must then find words using only the count and their own knowledge of the topic. On screen, a word appears in the list once it is found, so the list still shows your progress without giving away the answers.

If a word has an unusual letter (Q, X, Z, J or K) or a double letter (OO, LL, SS), look for that first; on Expert this helps less, because the filler is made of the words’ own letters. Take the first letter of a word and check all eight neighbouring squares for its second letter. Search for the longest words first, because they take up the most room and shrink the grid fastest. Cross words off as you find them so you do not search for the same word twice. On Hard and Expert, read backwards and up as well as forwards and down.

Frequently asked questions

Are there hard word searches for adults?

Yes. The Topic menu has a For adults group of ready-made lists. The default Big words topic uses long, unfamiliar words such as Onomatopoeia and Juxtaposition, and Hard or Expert difficulty adds more directions.

Can I print hard word searches with answers?

Yes. In the Print panel, choose Print puzzles + answer keys. Answer keys come after the puzzles with each word outlined, and you can set them to four per page or one per page. To save a PDF, choose Save as PDF in the print window.

Is this hard word search tool free?

Yes. It is free to use, with no sign-up and no download. Everything runs in your web browser, and nothing is uploaded.

Can I use my own words in a hard puzzle?

Yes. Open My own words, then type up to 60 words in the Your words box, one per line or separated by commas or semicolons. Words that are too long, too short or repeated are listed under Left out, with the reason.

Can I hide a message in the grid?

Yes, with Hidden message under More options. Enter up to 40 characters, and they fill the first empty squares, reading left to right and top to bottom. After finding every word, solvers read the first leftover letters in that order, and the answer key shades those squares and spells the message.

Will I lose my progress if I reload the page?

No. The game is saved in your browser, so reloading the page continues where you left off.

How do I share the same puzzle with a class?

Use Copy link. The address holds all your settings and a seed, so anyone who opens it gets exactly the same puzzle.