Share on Facebook

A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World

26 Word Search Puzzles You Can Print for Free

Download these printable word search puzzles for hours of word hunting fun. It's the perfect exercise for your brain.

Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.

Falling Letters Gettyimages 1184216905Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images

Printable word search puzzles

Break out your pens or pencils and get your eyes ready. These free printable word search puzzles are the perfect solo brain game activity for both kids and adults on a rainy day. If you’re good at logic puzzles and sudoku puzzles, these will be a breeze. All the words are hidden vertically, horizontally, or diagonally in both directions. The letters that are left unused in each puzzle form a sentence, reading from left to right. Happy word hunting! When you’re looking for your next challenge, try these printable crossword puzzles and printable brain teasers to test your smarts.

Word search, puzzle. Concept about finding, keep looking, persistence.Vergani_Fotografia/Getty Images

How do you do a word search?

Doing a word search is actually pretty simple, which makes it a great activity for people of all ages:

  • Step 1: Look at the words you’re tasked with finding in the word list and pick one to find
  • Step 2: Search through the jumbled letters to find the word; it can be found vertically, horizontally, or diagonally—in both directions (left to right and right to left)
  • Step 3: Once you find the word, circle it
  • Step 4: Cross the word off your list and move on to the next one

How do I find words in a word search?

If you can’t seem to find a word while doing a word search, try these tips:

  • Look for unique letters—Letters like Q, Z, and J are some of the least common letters in the alphabet. If your word has one of these letters in it, scan the puzzle for it and then look up, down, left, right, and diagonal to see if your word’s there.
  • Scan the rows—Pick a word, see which letter it starts with, and find that first letter to get a good start. Who knows, by scanning the rows you may even find the word horizontally.
  • Look for letter pairings—If your word has two unique letters back-to-back, try looking for those letters next to one another. For example, the word “aunt” has “a” and “u” next to one another. Scan the word search and see where you can find “a” and “u” next to one another—it could be your word!

Can you do word searches online?

Yes, you can do word searches online. Several websites like thewordsearch.com and free-word-search.com have word searches. If you prefer classic word search on paper, however, check out the word searches below.

House Word searchMind Stretchers

House-themed word search

These words related to your house might be tricky to find. If you love brain games, be sure to find out what Wordle is all about. And to improve your word-game strategy, check out WordleBot.

Download

Get the answers

Mammals Word searchMind Stretchers

Animal word search

How fast can you find these mammals?

Download

Get the answers

Flirt WordsearchMind Stretchers

Flirty word search

How many of these flirty words can you find in the word search puzzle? After this challenge, check out some word puzzles that’ll leave you stumped.

Download

Get the answers

Winter Word searchMind Stretchers

Winter word search

Don’t get too cold solving this word search.

Download

Get the answers

Bible Word searchMind Stretchers

Bible word search

See if you can find the names of some of the teachers from the bible.

Download

Get the answers

Jack Nicholson Word searchMind Stretchers

Jack Nicholson-themed word search

How well do you know Jack Nicholson, and how fast can you find these words that relate to him?

Download

Get the answers

Unitedstates Word searchMind Stretchers

United States word search

Here’s another printable word search that’s fun for all ages.

Download

Get the answers

Frankenstein Word searchMind Stretchers

Frankenstein word search

Laboratory, lifeless, lonesome. Can you find them? Then, try to solve these tough rebus puzzles.

Download

Get the answers

Cars Word searchMind Stretchers

Car-themed word search

If you know cars, you’ll be able to find these words quickly.

Download

Get the answers

Nursing Word searchMind Stretchers

Nursing-themed word search

All nurses are heroes. Hunt down these nursing-related words in this word find puzzle.

Download

Get the answers

Astronomy Word searchMind Stretchers

Astronomy word search

How fast can you find all of these words?

Download

Get the answers

Machines Word searchMind Stretchers

Machines word search

Try to find all 22 instances of the word. By the way—how many triangles do you see in this puzzle?

Download

Get the answers

Picasso Word searchMind Stretchers

Picasso-themed word search

Still life, studio, surrealism. Try to find all of these words related to the famous artist.

Download

Get the answers

Kitchen utensils Word searchMind Stretchers

Kitchen utensils word search

You might be able to locate all of these items in your kitchen, but can you find them in this free printable word search? Then, try to solve as many of these math riddles as you can.

Download

Get the answers

Sounds Word searchMind Stretchers

Sounds word search

Try to find all 32 words that relate to sound.

Download

Get the answers

Dreams Word searchMind Stretchers

Dreams word search

Some of these words related to dreams are tricky to find.

Download

Get the answers

Magic Word searchMind Stretchers

Magic-themed word search

The words on this puzzle aren’t just going to magically appear, you need to find them. While you’re looking, have your kids try to solve these riddles.

Download

Get the answers

Art trends Word searchMind Stretchers

Art trends word search

Some of the words are pretty tricky.

Download

Get the answers

Pizza Word searchMind Stretchers

Pizza-themed word search

Basil, mozzarella, parmesan, pepper… Yum!

Download

Get the answers

Waltdisney Word searchMind Stretchers

Walt Disney word search

If you’re a big fan of Mickey, this one might come easy to you. After you wrap these up, see how many squares you can find in this image.

Download

Get the answers

RELATED: How Many Squares Do You See in This Puzzle?

Printing Word searchMind Stretchers

Printing-themed word search

Try to find all 28 words.

Download

Get the answers

Ball Sports Word searchMind Stretchers

Ball sports word search

Even if you’re not into sports you should be able to find these words. Don’t miss these optical illusion photos—they’re tricky and give your brain a workout!

Download

Get the answers

Picnic WordsearchMind Stretchers

Picnic-themed word search

What yummy treats would you bring to your picnic?

Download

Get the answers

Poetry Word searchMind Stretchers

Poetry-themed word search

Don’t let the riddle, prose, or elegy scare you off.

Download

Get the answers

Carnivorans Word searchMind Stretchers

Carnivorans word search

How many of these carnivorous animals can you find in this free printable word search? Once you find them, see how many of these short riddles you can solve.

Download

Get the answers

Zoo Word searchMind Stretchers

Zoo-themed word search

There are 33 words in this word search, so it might get a little crowded. Be sure to use a sharp pencil. Then, check out these holiday word searches you can print for free.

Download

Get the answers

mind stretchers covers vol 1 and vol 2Mind Stretchers (2)

More puzzles

If you enjoyed these printable word search puzzles and want more puzzles to challenge your brain, purchase Mind Stretchers. Test your smarts with sudoku, crosswords, word searches, logic puzzles, and more. Now, try these brain games that are guaranteed to boost brainpower.

Morgan Cutolo
Morgan is the Senior Production Editor at Trusted Media Brands. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2016 where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. She works with our Production Coordinators to keep content moving and make sure that things are working well behind the scenes for all our digital sites. In her free time, she likes exploring the seacoast of Maine where she lives and works remotely full time and snuggling up on the couch with her corgi, Eggo, to watch HGTV or The Office.