Word searches

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.

FOUND0 of 28
  • 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.

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Animals, extra hard

Name

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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Animals, extra hard

Give it a try: drag a line across the letters.

About this word search

Hippopotamus comes from Greek and means river horse, and Rhinoceros means nose horn. Both are on this list, along with Platypus, a name built from the Greek words for flat foot.

Twenty-eight animals hide in all eight directions in a grid eighteen squares wide. Begin with the rare letters: the X in Lynx, the Z in Chimpanzee and Gazelle, the J in Jaguar. Long names such as Wildebeest and Salamander are easier to trace once you have their first three letters.

Older pupils can group the animals by continent afterwards, which quickly shows how many of them come from Africa. A world map on the wall helps.

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.

Is your theme missing? Type your own words into the word search maker. You get a grid with the answer key straight away, in the size you want.

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