Two empty pages that turn your word list into a puzzle. Page 1 holds a blank 10x10 grid and eight word-bank lines. Page 2 is the matching answer key with a title line and a difficulty circle to tick. Print both, write your words in, and the puzzle is ready to hand over.
How to use this page: print with Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on Mac). Both grids come empty, so you write the letters before anyone hunts anything. Pick up to 8 words, hide them in the grid one letter per square, list them in the word bank, then copy the filled grid onto the answer page.
Page 1: the blank grid
Word search — write one letter per square
Word bank — the words the solver hunts for:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Page 2: the answer key
Puzzle title:
Made by:
Difficulty, circle one:
E
M
H
Answer key — copy the filled grid here
Both grids print empty. There is nothing to solve until the maker fills the letters in, which is the point of a template. Once page 2 matches page 1 square for square, the solver can check every claimed find against it.
Four tips for the maker
Pick words one length apart. A 3-letter word sitting next to a 7-letter word makes the short one nearly free to find. Keep the lengths close and the hunt stays even. (Opinion.)
Fill the leftover squares with the same letters your words use. A grid full of Q and Z around short common words gives the whole hunt away. (Opinion.)
Hide most words left to right. Backwards and diagonal placements are harder to spot, so save them for the two or three words you want to be the sneaky ones. (Opinion.)
Solve your own puzzle before handing it over, then circle the difficulty from that: under two minutes is E, under five is M, anything longer is H. The circle is a claim the solver can test. (Opinion.)
Why a blank template
This page ships the empty frame instead of a finished puzzle, so the word list stays yours: spelling-list words, a birthday theme, names from a road trip, anything that fits in eight lines. The pack below takes the opposite route, 120 pages already built, and its readme explains the difference better than a sales line could:
“One activity per page, big print-friendly type, nothing to cut out except a few optional tiles, and no color printer needed (the accent colors turn gray fine in black-and-white).”
“Print extra copies of any page your child wants to repeat. Repetition is the point, not finishing the book.”