🗂️ Word Connections
Group sixteen words into four secret categories.
How to play
- Click 4 words you think share a secret connection.
- Press Submit to test your guess.
- A correct group locks in with its own color.
- Yellow is easiest, purple is the trickiest wordplay group.
- You get 4 mistakes before the puzzle ends.
A free word grouping game with a wordplay twist
Word Connections lays out sixteen words in a grid, and your job is to figure out how they sort into four hidden groups of four. Click any four words you think belong together, then press Submit to test your guess. Get all four right and that group locks in at the top of the board with its own color, out of the way so you can focus on what's left.
The four groups aren't equally easy. Yellow is usually the most straightforward, green and blue get more specific, and purple is the trickiest of all, often a wordplay twist like four words that can each combine with the same word rather than a plain category. That's what makes the last group the hardest to spot, even once the other three are already solved.
You get four mistakes before the puzzle ends. A guess that's close gets a One Away message, meaning three of your four picks really do belong together, so just swap out the one that doesn't fit and try again. Run out of mistakes and the puzzle reveals every group so you can see how it all fit together. Your total puzzles solved is saved locally in your own browser. It's free, works with a mouse, touchscreen, or keyboard, and needs no download or account. See the Parents & Safety page for the full privacy details, or try the timed Letter Grid Blitz game, or browse the rest of the Word Games hub.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Word Connections?
Click four words you think belong to the same secret group, then press Submit. Get all four right and that group locks in with a color. Sort all sixteen words into their four groups to win.
What do the colors mean?
Yellow is the most straightforward group, green and blue are more specific, and purple is the trickiest, usually a wordplay twist rather than a plain category.
What happens if I guess wrong?
You lose one of your four mistakes. A One Away message means three of your four words belong together, just swap out the one that doesn't fit. Run out of mistakes and the puzzle ends, showing every group.
Can a word belong to more than one group?
Every word in a puzzle belongs to exactly one of the four groups, but the categories are written so it isn't always obvious which one until you think it through.