Word Search for Kids
Getting your game ready…
- Ages
- 5–12
- School years
- KG2–Basic 6
- Skills
- Spelling and recognising familiar words, Building vocabulary around everyday themes, Scanning and visual searching
- Time
- 2–5 minutes a round
- Cost
- Free, no sign-up
- Updated
For grown-upsWord Search is a free word search game for kids, with a brand-new puzzle every time you play and ten themes to choose from.
In Ghana, Word Search suits children in KG2 to Basic 6. School years and levels on this page follow Ghanaian schools.
How to play Word Search
- Choose a level and a theme. Easy is an 8 × 8 grid with words across and down, Medium adds diagonal words, and Hard is a 12 × 12 grid where words can also run backwards.
- Find a word from the list in the grid, then drag across it from the first letter to the last. You can also tap the first letter and then the last letter.
- On a keyboard, use the arrow keys to move around the grid and press Enter or Space on the first and last letters.
- Each word you find is highlighted and crossed off the list. Find them all quickly to earn more points!
- Want to play on paper? Press Print this puzzle for a clean copy of the grid and word list.
What your child learns
- Spelling and recognising familiar words
- Building vocabulary around everyday themes
- Scanning and visual searching
- Reading words left to right, top to bottom, diagonally and backwards
- Concentration and persistence
About Word Search
Word searches are a gentle way to practise spelling. To find a word, children have to hold its letters in mind and look for them in order, which helps them notice how words are built. Every theme uses familiar words, so younger children can sound them out and older children can race the clock.
Easy puzzles suit KG2 to Basic 2: a small grid and only across and down words. Medium, for Basic 3–4, adds diagonals on a 10 × 10 grid. Hard, for Basic 5–6, uses a 12 × 12 grid where words can run in any of eight directions, including backwards. Every grid is made fresh, and the computer checks that each word appears exactly once, so there is never a confusing second copy.
| School year | Suggested level |
|---|---|
| KG2 | Easy |
| Basic 1 | Easy |
| Basic 2 | Easy |
| Basic 3 | Medium |
| Basic 4 | Medium |
| Basic 5 | Hard |
| Basic 6 | Hard |
Move up a level after getting three stars two or three times in a row.
Leaderboard
Full leaderboardPlay a round to get on the board! Create a free account to save your scores.
Frequently asked questions
What age is this word search for?
It suits children aged about 5 to 12. Easy puzzles have short words that only go across and down, so they work well for early readers. Hard puzzles hide longer words in every direction.
Can I print the word search?
Yes. Press Print this puzzle during a game to print a clean copy of the grid and the word list, without the rest of the page.
How are points worked out?
You earn points for every word you find, plus a bonus for finishing quickly. Medium puzzles are worth one and a half times as much as Easy, and Hard puzzles are worth double.
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