Word Ladders

Turn one word into another by changing one letter at a time, and every step has to be a real word. CAT becomes COT, COT becomes DOT, DOT becomes DOG. It's a quick puzzle that gets students thinking hard about spelling and vocabulary, and the hint button means nobody stays stuck for long. There are 30 ladders at three levels.

Play Word Ladders

How it works

  1. Open Word Ladders and choose a level: A1/A2 (three-letter words), B1 or B2/C1 (four-letter words).
  2. The blue word at the top is the start. The orange word at the bottom is the goal.
  3. Type a word that changes just one letter of the word above and press Enter or Add word.
  4. Keep going until you reach the bottom word. The fewer steps, the better.
  5. Stuck? Hint shows which letter to change; press it again to see the next word. Undo takes back your last word.

Ideas for using it

  • Class race. Show a ladder on the board. Pairs solve it on paper. The first pair with a correct ladder wins, and the shortest ladder gets a bonus point.
  • Shout it out. Students call out the next word and you type it in. If the game says no, the class finds another.
  • Say the meaning. Every word added to the ladder has to be explained or used in a sentence before the next one.
  • Opposites. Many ladders go between related words, like HATE to LOVE or COLD to WARM. Ask students to make their own opposite pairs and try them.
  • Make one for the class. Higher levels create a word ladder for another group to solve, then check it in the game.
  • Warmer or filler. One A1/A2 ladder takes about two minutes, ideal at the start or end of a lesson.
  • Homework. Students do the ten ladders at their level. Solved puzzles turn green, so they can see their progress.

Tips

  • Work backwards. Look at the goal word and think which letter it needs from the start word.
  • Vowels are useful. Changing a vowel (CAT, COT, CUT) often opens up more words.
  • Dead ends happen. If there's no way down from your word, the game tells you. Press Undo and try another way.
  • About the word list. The game accepts a wide list of real English words, with rude words removed. Show a solution always gives the shortest way.

More word games

Try the Countdown letters game, Hangman or Story Cards. For more ideas, browse our exercises and activities and lesson plans.

Play Word Ladders