Free word search maker and printables

Fall Word Search

Autumn words like harvest, acorn and scarecrow hidden in a grid, to print or play online.

This free fall word search maker builds an autumn-themed word search in your web browser. Choose the Fall topic, which holds 42 words, and the tool creates a 15×15 grid at Medium difficulty. It is free and needs no sign-up or download. You can play the puzzle on screen, print it as a fall word search printable, or copy a link to share the same puzzle. Nothing is uploaded, so the puzzle stays in your browser. Teachers, parents and anyone who wants a seasonal puzzle can use the same settings to make a fresh grid for each sheet, whether you need one puzzle or a whole class set.
  1. Open the Fall topic. It has 42 words. Thanksgiving and Halloween (easy) are also listed first if you want a different theme.
  2. Set Grid size, from 8×8 to 30×30. The default is 15×15.
  3. Set Number of words between 4 and 60. The tool starts at a good number for your grid size.
  4. Choose Difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard or Expert. Read the hint line under the setting before you pick.
  5. To play, click or tap the first letter of a word, then its last letter. With a mouse you can also drag. Found words get a coloured outline and a tick in “Find these words”. Watch the “Found x of y” count and the timer.
  6. If you get stuck, press Hint to make the first letter of an unfound word flash. Press Show answers to outline every word.
  7. When the puzzle is complete, press Next puzzle or New puzzle for a new grid with the same settings.
  8. Open the Print panel. Set Copies (1 to 20), Paper size (Letter or A4) and Answer keys (four per page or one per page). Then press Print puzzles + answer keys, Print puzzles only or Print answer keys only. To save a PDF, choose Save as PDF in the print window.
  9. Press Copy link to copy an address that holds all your settings and the exact puzzle.

Your game is saved in this browser, so reloading the page continues it. To use your own words, choose “My own words” in the Topic menu.

The tool picks 18 words at random from the Fall topic on the default 15×15 grid (more on bigger grids), so every new puzzle mixes them differently. The full list:

Fall (42 words): Autumn, Harvest, Pumpkin, Scarecrow, Acorn, Apple cider, Bonfire, Cornfield, Hayride, Sweater, Football, Orchard, Leaves, Maple, Foliage, Raking, Equinox, Squash, Cranberry, Cinnamon, Hot cocoa, Chili, Corn maze, Gourd, Crisp air, Migration, Geese, Chestnut, Pinecone, Wool, Boots, Scarf, Flannel, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Cozy, Harvest moon, Back to school, Sunset, Cornucopia, Wood smoke, Pecan.

Words with a space, such as Harvest moon, are written without the space in the grid, so you look for HARVESTMOON.

You can open an example puzzle to check this. In that grid, GEESE starts in row 7, column 13 and runs top to bottom. HARVESTMOON starts in row 3, column 3 and runs top to bottom. WOODSMOKE starts in row 9, column 6 and runs diagonally up to the right.

At Medium, words can run in four directions: left to right, top to bottom, diagonally down to the right and diagonally up to the right. They never run backwards. Words may cross where their letters match. Every hidden word appears exactly once in the grid.

Is there an easy fall word search for kids?

Yes. Set Difficulty to Easy. In Easy, words run only left to right (→) and top to bottom (↓), and they never cross. That makes the puzzle much simpler to scan. For younger players, use an 8×8 or 10×10 grid. On Easy the tool also starts with fewer words: 8 on an 8×8 grid, 10 on a 10×10 grid.

Some solving methods work at every level:

  • If a word has an unusual letter such as Q, X, Z, J or K, scan the grid for that letter first: there are only a few places to check.
  • Look for double letters such as OO, LL or SS.
  • Take the first letter of a word and check all 8 neighbouring letters for its second letter.
  • Find the longest words first, then cross each word off the list as you go.

On Easy, you only need to look right and down. Hard and Expert also read backwards and upwards, so those levels take longer.

Frequently asked questions

Can I print it?

Yes. Each puzzle prints on its own page with a title, the grid size and level, Name and Date lines, and a checkbox list of the words. Answer keys print after the puzzles with the words outlined.

Is it free?

Yes. There is no charge and no account to create. The puzzle is made in your browser, and your own words never leave it.

Can I add my own words?

Yes. Choose “My own words” and type your own list instead of the topic. Words you add stay in your browser and are not sent to a server.

Can I share the same puzzle with a class?

Yes. Press Copy link. The address holds all your settings and a seed, so anyone who opens it gets exactly the same puzzle. This works well for a class, a newsletter or a friend.

Is fall the same as autumn?

Yes. Fall and autumn mean the same season. Autumn is more common in British English. In the Northern Hemisphere, autumn runs from the September equinox to the December solstice, so an autumn word search and a fall word search are the same kind of puzzle.

Does each word appear only once in the grid?

Yes. The generator makes sure each hidden word appears exactly once. A short word that sits inside a longer word, such as CAT inside CATERPILLAR, counts only where it was placed.