How to make puzzles with your own words
Put one word or phrase on each line, fix any messages and check the preview. Save a settings file if you want to return to the list.
Open Make your own to paste a list, or choose Edit words on a theme to start with its words. Put one word or phrase on each line. Keep ice cream on one line, for example, if you want it to be one puzzle entry.
Start with the Flowers word list
Enter and check the list
Add your words
Put one word or phrase on each line. Use letters, accents, spaces and hyphens; leave out numbers and other punctuation.
Use the list
Choose Use these words. Blank lines are ignored. Fix any duplicate or unsupported entries and try again.
Look at the spellings
Compare the words in your list with the letters in the puzzle. The list keeps spaces and hyphens even though the grid leaves them out.
Check the result
Look for any words that did not fit the grid. A valid entry can still need a larger grid or a different word selection.
Save your work
Choose Save puzzle settings to keep a file for later. Clear words removes the current list and previews.
How the letters appear in a puzzle
Type each word as you would normally write it. The puzzle grid uses uppercase letters and removes spaces and hyphens. Accents stay unless you choose to remove them. Some words use more letters in uppercase: Straße becomes STRASSE, so it needs seven grid cells.
| Your entry | In the grid | What changes? |
|---|---|---|
| ÉTÉ | ÉTÉ | Three cells; the accents stay. |
| Straße | STRASSE | Seven cells; ß becomes SS in uppercase. |
| ice cream | ICECREAM | Eight cells; the space is removed. |
| ice-cream | ICECREAM | The hyphen is removed, giving the same grid word as ice cream. |
Remove accents from grid letters changes the puzzle letters, while the list keeps the spelling you entered. If two entries make the same grid word, keep just one. For example, ice cream and ice-cream both become ICECREAM, so they cannot count as two different bingo words.
See an example with spaces and accents
Words used
ÉTÉ · Straße · ice cream
The example uses ÉTÉ, Straße and ice cream to show the spelling changes. These sample words are separate from the Flowers and School Supplies theme lists linked above.
If a word still will not fit
You can use up to 100 entries, with up to 64 grid letters in each. A word search can have 5–40 cells on each side, so a word may be valid but still too long for the grid. Check any missing-word message, then change the grid, directions or word list and try again.
Fix missing words in a word search
Save puzzle settings downloads a file to your device. It is the way to keep your words and setup; the workspace does not save them automatically. Clear words empties the current workspace, but files you already downloaded stay on your device.