Free word search maker and printables

Space Word Search

Space, solar system and planet words hidden in a grid, to print or play online.

This space word search maker builds a grid of hidden space words that you can play on screen or print as a worksheet. It covers outer space, the solar system and the planets, and it runs in your web browser with no sign-up and no download. This page opens on a Space topic with 47 words in a 15×15 grid at Medium difficulty. You can switch to a Solar system word find or to an easier list of short space words, or type your own list. Each new grid is arranged differently, so you can make a space word search puzzle for a class, a family game or a homework task in a few clicks.

You can use the space puzzles at home, in class or in products you sell, such as KDP activity books.

Space word search example
  1. Open the Topic menu and choose Space, Solar system or Space (easy). To use your own list, choose My own words. Your list replaces the topic’s words.
  2. Set Grid size, from 8×8 to 30×30. The default is 15×15.
  3. Set Number of words, from 4 to 60. The tool starts at a suitable number for the grid size.
  4. Choose a Difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard or Expert. The hint line under the menu explains which directions each level uses.
  5. Click or tap the first letter of a word, then its last letter. With a mouse you can also drag. The status line shows “Found x of y” and a timer.
  6. If you get stuck, press Hint to flash the first letter of an unfound word, or Show answers to outline every word.
  7. Press Next puzzle or New puzzle for a fresh grid with the same settings.
  8. Open the Print panel, set Copies, Paper size and Answer keys, then press a print button. For a PDF, choose Save as PDF in the print window.
  9. Press Copy link to get an address that opens exactly the same puzzle.

Keyboard players can move with the arrow keys and mark a word with Enter or Space. The game is saved in your browser, so reloading the page continues where you left off.

The Space topic uses 47 words, including Galaxy, Nebula, Black hole, Supernova, Constellation, Milky Way, Light year, Big Bang, Quasar, Pulsar, Aurora, Astronaut, Telescope, Space station and Rover, plus the eight planets and Pluto. The Space (easy) topic has 34 words of 3 to 8 letters, such as Sun, Moon, Comet, Rocket, Helmet and Alien.

The full lists:

Space (47 words): Planet, Star, Galaxy, Comet, Asteroid, Meteor, Moon, Sun, Orbit, Rocket, Astronaut, Telescope, Nebula, Black hole, Supernova, Universe, Cosmos, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Milky Way, Solar system, Eclipse, Gravity, Satellite, Constellation, Space station, Meteorite, Lunar, Solar, Crater, Launch, Capsule, Shuttle, Rover, Light year, Big Bang, Quasar, Pulsar, Aurora, Zenith.

Solar system (52 words): Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Dwarf planet, Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea, Makemake, Moon, Titan, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Triton, Phobos, Deimos, Enceladus, Charon, Asteroid belt, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, Comet, Meteor, Orbit, Axis, Rotation, Revolution, Gravity, Rings, Great Red Spot, Corona, Sunspot, Solar flare, Solar wind, Eclipse, Equinox, Solstice, Gas giant, Ice giant, Terrestrial, Crater, Ellipse, Perihelion, Aphelion, Light year.

Space (easy) (34 words): Sun, Moon, Star, Mission, Earth, Mars, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Mercury, Pluto, Comet, Rocket, Planet, Orbit, Space, Sky, Night, Shuttle, Rover, Crater, Galaxy, Meteor, Rings, Launch, Helmet, Gravity, Light, Twinkle, Lunar, Solar, Cosmos, Alien.

The Solar system topic has 52 words. It includes the Sun, the dwarf planets Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake, moons such as Titan, Europa, Ganymede and Triton, and terms like Asteroid belt, Oort cloud, Solar wind, Perihelion, Aphelion and Eclipse.

To see a finished grid, open the worked example at /space-word-search/?seed=demo1. It is a 15×15 Medium puzzle with 18 words: AURORA, BLACK HOLE, COMET, CONSTELLATION, CRATER, LAUNCH, LIGHT YEAR, LUNAR, MERCURY, MILKY WAY, MOON, PULSAR, SHUTTLE, SPACE STATION, STAR, SUPERNOVA, VENUS and ZENITH. Three of them show the directions clearly. LIGHTYEAR starts in row 4, column 3 and runs top to bottom. CONSTELLATION starts in row 14, column 3 and runs diagonally up to the right. BLACKHOLE starts in row 9, column 6 and runs diagonally up to the right. Spaces are removed in the grid, so LIGHT YEAR is hidden as LIGHTYEAR.

Is there a solar system word search with the planets?

Yes. The Solar system topic includes the Sun and the eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Because the topic also holds dwarf planets, moons and other terms, and each puzzle picks its words at random, a planets-only puzzle is easiest with My own words: type the eight planets, one per line, and add the Sun or Pluto if you like.

Pluto is not one of the eight planets. It was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006, so leave it out of a planets-only list. For a fun fact to pair with the puzzle, Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter, is the largest moon in the solar system, and Titan is the largest moon of Saturn.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an easy space word search for kids?

Yes. Choose the Space (easy) topic, which uses 34 short words of 3 to 8 letters, and set Difficulty to Easy. Easy words run only left to right and top to bottom, and they never cross, which makes them simpler to scan. An 8×8 or 10×10 grid keeps the puzzle small for younger players.

Can I print a space word search with answers?

Yes. Open the Print panel and press Print puzzles + answer keys. Each puzzle prints on its own page with Name and Date lines, and the answer keys follow the puzzles with every word outlined. Choose Four per page, One per page or One per page with word positions for the keys, or press Print answer keys only to print just the keys.

Is the space word search free?

Yes. Everything runs in the web browser, with no sign-up and no download. Nothing is uploaded, and your own words never leave your browser. What you make is yours to use freely, including commercially; see the commercial-use question in this FAQ.

Can I get a space word search as a PDF?

Yes. Open the Print panel, press Print puzzles + answer keys (or Print puzzles only) and choose Save as PDF in the print window. Each puzzle is saved on its own page, with the title, the grid and the list of words.

Yes. Choose My own words in the Topic menu and type your list, one word per line or separated by commas or semicolons. Your list replaces the topic’s words. Spaces and hyphens stay in the word list but not in the grid, and accents are removed. Words that are too long, too short or repeated are listed under Left out with the reason.

How do I share the exact puzzle I made?

Press Copy link to copy an address that holds all of your settings and the seed for the grid. Anyone who opens the link gets the same puzzle, which suits a class, a newsletter or a friend. If you used your own words, they are stored after the # sign in the link, which browsers do not send to a server.

Can I sell space word searches in a KDP book or on Etsy?

Yes. The space puzzles you make are royalty-free for personal, classroom and commercial use, including Amazon KDP activity books, Etsy printables and Teachers Pay Teachers. The word lists are our own and no credit is required. The only limit is copying the generator or site to run a competing service.