Free word search maker and printables

Winter Word Search

Snow, ice and winter holidays hidden in a grid, to print or play online.

A winter word search is a grid of letters with hidden words about cold weather, the winter season and winter holidays. This free word search maker builds one for you and lets you solve it on screen or print it. It runs in your web browser, with no sign-up and no download. The page opens on the Winter topic (48 words) in a 15×15 grid at Medium difficulty. You can also choose Winter holidays (47 words) or Christmas (easy, 33 short words). Change the grid size, the number of words or the difficulty, and the tool makes a new puzzle that matches your settings. Each printed copy has a different arrangement, so a class can use the same topic without everyone getting the same grid.
  1. Pick a topic. Start with Winter, or choose Winter holidays or Christmas (easy). To use your own list, choose ‘My own words’ and type your words (they replace the topic’s list).
  2. Set the ‘Grid size’. You can choose 8×8, 10×10, 12×12, 15×15, 18×18, 20×20, 25×25 or 30×30.
  3. Set the ‘Number of words’ from 4 to 60. The tool starts at a good number for the grid size.
  4. Choose a ‘Difficulty’: Easy, Medium, Hard or Expert. Read the hint line under the menu to see which directions the words use.
  5. Find a word by clicking or tapping its first letter, then its last letter. With a mouse, you can also drag across the letters.
  6. Press ‘Hint’ to make the first letter of an unfound word flash. Press ‘Show answers’ to outline every word.
  7. When all words are found, the status line shows ‘Puzzle complete in mm:ss’. Press ‘Next puzzle’ for a new grid with the same settings.

Use the ‘Print’ panel to choose the number of copies (1 to 20), the paper size (Letter or A4) and the answer key layout (four or one per page). Then press ‘Print puzzles + answer keys’, ‘Print puzzles only’ or ‘Print answer keys only’. Press ‘Copy link’ to share the exact puzzle with a class or friend. The game is saved in your browser, so reloading the page continues where you stopped. Keyboard players can move with the arrow keys and mark a letter with Enter or Space.

The tool picks the words at random from the topic you choose, as many as fit the grid (18 on the default 15×15 grid), so every new puzzle mixes them differently. Each word appears exactly once in the grid. The full lists:

Winter (48 words): Snowman, Snowflake, Blizzard, Icicle, Frost, Sled, Skiing, Skating, Snowboard, Mittens, Scarf, Parka, Fireplace, Hot cocoa, Blanket, Igloo, Hibernate, Solstice, Frozen, Freezing, Chilly, Snowball, Snowdrift, Flurry, Sleet, Hail, Slush, Ice skates, Snow angel, Toboggan, Earmuffs, Boots, Woolly hat, Thermal, Cozy, Cold, Penguin, Polar bear, Evergreen, Hockey, Shovel, Snowplow, Snowshoes, Fleece, Wintry, Frostbite, Chill, Down jacket.

Winter holidays (47 words): Hanukkah, Menorah, Dreidel, Latkes, Gelt, Maccabees, Miracle, Kwanzaa, Kinara, Umoja, Kujichagulia, Ujima, Ujamaa, Nia, Kuumba, Imani, Solstice, Winter solstice, Yule, Yule log, Yalda, New Year, Lunar New Year, Hogmanay, Epiphany, Three Kings Day, Boxing Day, Bodhi Day, Christmas, Advent, Candles, Fireworks, Countdown, Resolution, Confetti, Midnight, Celebration, Family, Gifts, Feast, Tradition, Lights, Evergreen, Wreath, Snowflake, Gathering, Unity.

Two-word entries such as Polar bear are hidden without the space (POLARBEAR). In the example puzzle, BLANKET starts in row 2, column 2 and EVERGREEN in row 3, column 3; both run top to bottom.

Winter holidays covers Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the solstice, New Year and more. Use it for classes that celebrate different holidays.

Yes. Choose Difficulty Easy, or pick the Christmas (easy) topic, which has 33 short words. On Easy, words run only left to right (→) and top to bottom (↓), and they never cross. On Easy the tool starts with fewer words (never more than the grid size plus 2), so a small grid stays manageable.

Medium adds diagonals going down-right and up-right (↘ ↗), and words may cross where their letters agree. Hard adds backwards and upward words. Expert uses all eight directions, tries crossings first, and builds the filler letters from the hidden words, so the whole grid looks alike.

To solve faster, look for uncommon letters such as Q, X, Z, J and K, or for double letters such as OO, LL and SS. Take the first letter of a word and check its eight neighbouring letters for the second letter. Find the longest words first, and cross each one off as you go. On Hard and Expert, also read backwards and upward.

Frequently asked questions

Can I print a winter word search with answers?

Yes. In the ‘Print’ panel, press ‘Print puzzles + answer keys’ to print both. The answer keys come after the puzzles, with each word outlined. Choose ‘Four per page’ or ‘One per page’ for the keys. To save a PDF, pick ‘Save as PDF’ in the print window.

Is the winter word search free?

Yes. The tool is free, needs no sign-up and runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, and your own words stay in your browser.

Yes. Choose ‘My own words’ and enter the words you want. Your words never leave the browser. If you copy the link, they sit after the # sign, which browsers do not send to a server.

Can I share the same winter puzzle with a class?

Yes. Press ‘Copy link’ to copy an address that holds all your settings and the seed. Anyone who opens it gets exactly the same puzzle, which suits a class, a newsletter or a friend.

Is there a winter holiday word search for mixed classes?

Yes. Choose the Winter holidays topic, which covers Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the solstice, New Year and more. It works well when a class celebrates different holidays.

What is on each printed page?

Each puzzle prints on its own page with the title, the grid size and level, Name and Date lines, the grid, and a ‘Find these words:’ list with a checkbox for each word. The footer shows easywordsearch.com.