Printable Word Search (Free PDF)

Pick a theme and a grid size and you get a full-width letter grid with the words hidden across, down, diagonally and backwards. The 12x12 grid hides twelve words and suits younger solvers; the 15x15 grid hides sixteen and takes longer to work through. The words to find are printed in four alphabetical columns in a band under the grid, so nobody has to flip pages while they hunt.

Four word lists come with the sheet. Animals runs from otter and zebra to elephant and tortoise; food covers pancake, broccoli, omelette and spaghetti; school collects pencil, recess, homework and spelling; sports takes in netball, archery, cycling and swimming. Every word is placed by the generator and the leftover squares are filled with letters drawn from those same words, so no stray letter gives a hiding place away.

Leave the answers option on and a second page repeats the grid with every hidden word highlighted and its letters in bold, which makes marking a classful of sheets quick. The puzzle is a vector page with a ruled name line at the top and nothing to type into. The same theme and grid size always produce the same puzzle, so a reprint matches the copies you already handed out.