GuidesPrintable word search for kids: two free puzzles with answers
A word search is the perfect quiet activity: no rules to explain, no right speed, and a child can stop and come back to it. Below are two free puzzles you can print straight from this page, an easy one for younger kids and a bigger rainy-day one, each with its own answer key. If your child enjoys these, try today's Daily Mini Puzzle next — it is free, has no sign-up and changes every day.
Each grid was made by a small program that hides every word exactly once, then fills the empty squares with random letters and checks the result against a list of words we never want a child to stumble on.
How to print
Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac), or choose Print from your browser menu. The site menu and ads are left off the printout. The answer keys are at the end of the page, so if you only want the puzzles, set the page range in the print window — or print the whole thing and keep the last page as a teacher's copy.
Puzzle 1: Easy pets word search (8 x 8)
Ages 5–7. Find these 6 words. They only go across (left to right) or down (top to bottom), never backwards.
Words: CAT, DOG, FISH, BIRD, FROG, DUCK
| O | H | X | R | V | B | H | F |
| D | O | G | W | U | V | Z | Z |
| C | Q | D | U | C | K | Z | K |
| S | F | D | N | U | B | S | R |
| F | R | E | T | B | I | B | A |
| I | O | V | R | P | R | M | K |
| S | G | K | I | X | D | O | E |
| H | Z | P | C | A | T | G | Y |
Puzzle 2: Rainy-day word search (12 x 12)
Ages 8–11. Find these 11 words. They can go across, down or diagonally (down-right or up-right). No word is written backwards.
Words: UMBRELLA, RAINBOW, PUDDLE, THUNDER, JACKET, SPLASH, CLOUD, BOOTS, STORM, DROPS, WIND
| D | L | O | D | V | T | H | U | N | D | E | R |
| R | B | H | G | X | S | C | L | O | U | D | W |
| O | C | R | D | A | I | E | T | O | E | O | F |
| P | C | N | L | E | T | E | A | L | B | C | D |
| S | E | P | E | C | K | W | D | N | A | N | Q |
| L | S | O | D | C | J | D | I | J | I | D | Z |
| E | R | V | A | U | U | A | R | W | G | P | M |
| T | M | J | T | P | R | I | H | U | D | R | S |
| O | U | M | B | R | E | L | L | A | O | Z | U |
| Z | K | Y | G | L | H | W | Q | T | C | X | I |
| R | Z | Z | Q | C | J | B | S | O | A | C | Z |
| Y | Y | W | V | B | O | O | T | S | K | J | N |
Tips that make word searches more fun
- Start with the longest word. Long words like UMBRELLA have fewer places to hide, so they are easier to spot and give a quick win.
- Hunt for rare letters. Look for a letter that only appears a few times, such as K, W or the double letter in PUDDLE, then check the squares around it.
- Use a finger or a ruler. Younger children lose their place easily. Sliding a ruler down one row at a time keeps the search calm.
- Circle, do not cross out. Circling each word keeps the letters readable, because some letters are shared between two words.
- Make it a race (or not). Older kids like a timer; younger ones often prefer to work with a grown-up and take turns finding words.
Ways to use word searches
At home: a word search is a good "wind-down" activity before bed or a quiet task while you cook. Ask your child to read each word out loud as they find it — that turns the puzzle into reading practice.
In class: use the easy grid as an early-finisher sheet, or project the big grid on the board and let teams call out coordinates ("row 4, column 11, going down"). The answer key below uses the same row and column numbers.
For spelling: after the search, ask kids to write each word from memory and check it against the list.
For other languages: once your child knows how word searches work, the same "find the shape" skill helps with new alphabets. Our free Hangul alphabet tracing sheet is a fun next step for curious kids, and you will find more one-page sheets on our free printables page.
Answer key
Puzzle 1 answers
Row 1 is the top row and column 1 is on the left. Each answer gives the square of the first letter.
- BIRD — row 4, column 6, reading down
- CAT — row 8, column 4, reading across
- DOG — row 2, column 1, reading across
- DUCK — row 3, column 3, reading across
- FISH — row 5, column 1, reading down
- FROG — row 4, column 2, reading down
| O | H | X | R | V | B | H | F |
| D | O | G | W | U | V | Z | Z |
| C | Q | D | U | C | K | Z | K |
| S | F | D | N | U | B | S | R |
| F | R | E | T | B | I | B | A |
| I | O | V | R | P | R | M | K |
| S | G | K | I | X | D | O | E |
| H | Z | P | C | A | T | G | Y |
Puzzle 2 answers
- BOOTS — row 12, column 5, reading across
- CLOUD — row 2, column 7, reading across
- DROPS — row 1, column 1, reading down
- JACKET — row 8, column 3, reading diagonally up-right
- PUDDLE — row 8, column 5, reading diagonally up-right
- RAINBOW — row 8, column 6, reading diagonally up-right
- SPLASH — row 6, column 2, reading diagonally up-right
- STORM — row 11, column 8, reading diagonally up-right
- THUNDER — row 1, column 6, reading across
- UMBRELLA — row 9, column 2, reading across
- WIND — row 7, column 9, reading diagonally up-right
| D | L | O | D | V | T | H | U | N | D | E | R |
| R | B | H | G | X | S | C | L | O | U | D | W |
| O | C | R | D | A | I | E | T | O | E | O | F |
| P | C | N | L | E | T | E | A | L | B | C | D |
| S | E | P | E | C | K | W | D | N | A | N | Q |
| L | S | O | D | C | J | D | I | J | I | D | Z |
| E | R | V | A | U | U | A | R | W | G | P | M |
| T | M | J | T | P | R | I | H | U | D | R | S |
| O | U | M | B | R | E | L | L | A | O | Z | U |
| Z | K | Y | G | L | H | W | Q | T | C | X | I |
| R | Z | Z | Q | C | J | B | S | O | A | C | Z |
| Y | Y | W | V | B | O | O | T | S | K | J | N |
More free activities
- Rainy-day printable activities: ten indoor ideas you can set up in five minutes.
- Free logic puzzles for adults: when the grown-ups want a puzzle too.
- Daily Mini Puzzle: one free maze, code or picture-math puzzle a day, ages 8 and up.
You are welcome to print these puzzles for your family or classroom. Please do not resell or re-upload them.