import re
my_other_string = 'the_boathouse_has_sunk'
my_list = ['car', 'boat', 'truck']
my_other_string = re.sub(r'[\W_]', ' ', my_other_string)
my_list = re.compile(r'\b(?:%s)\b' % '|'.join(my_list))
if re.search(my_list, my_other_string):
    print('yay')