Hard animal word search
Hippopotamus, armadillo and platypus are long names to spot in an eighteen by eighteen grid. Words run forwards, backwards and diagonally, which makes this one a real test for older kids and adults.
- Anteater
- Armadillo
- Buffalo
- Chameleon
- Cheetah
- Chimpanzee
- Crocodile
- Flamingo
- Gazelle
- Hippopotamus
- Jaguar
- Kangaroo
- Leopard
- Lynx
- Meerkat
- Moose
- Octopus
- Orangutan
- Platypus
- Porcupine
- Rhinoceros
- Salamander
- Sloth
- Squirrel
- Tapir
- Tortoise
- Walrus
- Wildebeest
This is the same puzzle as on the printable sheet. Every word you find turns green and is crossed off the list.
Make your own versionAnimals, extra hard
Name
| E | L | I | D | O | C | O | R | C | A | C | T | O | M | S | J | U | L |
| R | E | L | L | E | Z | A | G | N | D | U | R | W | A | E | A | L | E |
| N | L | O | D | A | A | I | A | E | E | W | I | L | M | Y | G | A | O |
| H | S | U | P | O | T | C | O | H | P | L | A | T | Y | P | U | S | P |
| A | R | M | A | D | I | L | L | O | D | M | L | L | S | P | A | E | A |
| T | E | X | H | M | O | O | S | E | A | D | Y | D | R | L | R | N | R |
| E | T | N | L | E | M | L | B | N | H | N | C | S | C | U | O | A | D |
| E | A | I | G | E | S | E | D | D | X | V | S | U | O | R | S | T | L |
| H | E | O | U | F | E | E | E | Z | N | A | P | M | I | H | C | U | H |
| C | T | R | P | S | R | S | L | R | L | O | T | A | R | N | S | G | L |
| R | N | N | T | O | I | E | O | D | K | S | T | T | T | O | T | N | N |
| A | A | T | A | O | R | K | A | N | G | A | R | O | O | E | E | A | W |
| G | E | L | T | R | E | C | R | R | P | H | T | P | P | L | T | R | C |
| E | O | R | I | R | R | O | U | R | H | I | N | O | C | E | R | O | S |
| X | O | U | I | E | S | E | I | P | H | E | I | P | O | M | R | N | L |
| T | Q | P | A | G | R | T | I | R | I | G | P | P | R | A | P | S | P |
| S | A | O | L | A | F | F | U | B | L | N | L | I | O | H | I | P | T |
| T | E | F | L | A | M | I | N | G | O | H | E | H | A | C | T | V | S |
Find these words
- Anteater
- Armadillo
- Buffalo
- Chameleon
- Cheetah
- Chimpanzee
- Crocodile
- Flamingo
- Gazelle
- Hippopotamus
- Jaguar
- Kangaroo
- Leopard
- Lynx
- Meerkat
- Moose
- Octopus
- Orangutan
- Platypus
- Porcupine
- Rhinoceros
- Salamander
- Sloth
- Squirrel
- Tapir
- Tortoise
- Walrus
- Wildebeest
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Scan for the answer key
Animals, extra hard
Give it a try: drag a line across the letters.
All words found!
About this word search
Platypus is the odd one out here. Together with the echidnas it belongs to the monotremes, mammals that lay eggs, and it lives in creeks and rivers in eastern Australia and Tasmania. Its neighbours on the list come from every continent, from the Moose of the northern forests to the Meerkat of southern Africa.
Because the big grid lets a name point any of eight ways, reversed ones included, open with letters that seldom appear. The Z in Chimpanzee and Gazelle, the X in Lynx and the J in Jaguar are quick to pick out. Hippopotamus and Wildebeest stretch across much of a row, and once the first few letters line up the rest follows, even when the word reads from right to left.
For a classroom follow-up, group the animals by continent and mark them on a world map.
Ways to use this word search
In the classroom
Print it as a task for early finishers, or to open a lesson on this topic. With the QR code on the sheet, pupils check their own answers.
At home and on the go
Pack a few printed sheets for the car, the train or the holidays. A pen is all you need, no screen required.
Play together
Print the sheet twice and race each other. Whoever finds all the words first wins. Or play it online and see who is fastest.
Try it in Spanish too
The same theme also exists in Spanish, French, German and Italian, each with its own word list in that language. Handy if you are learning a language: you already know the topic, now just the words.
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