Word Search
Find every hidden word. Drag across the letters, or tap the first and last.
Word Search — Answer Key
Animals · Medium · No. 1
Name Date
0 / 12 found0:00
- BADGER
- DOLPHIN
- FALCON
- GORILLA
- KANGAROO
- MONKEY
- PANDA
- PENGUIN
- RABBIT
- SPIDER
- TIGER
- TURTLE
https://infinitewordle.net/word-search/?p=animals-medium-1
What Is a Word Search?
A word search is a grid of letters with a list of words hidden inside it. Words can run across, down, diagonally or backwards, and you win by finding every one.
The puzzle is generally credited to Norman E. Gibat, who published one in the Selenby Digest in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1968. Depending on where you grew up, you may know it as a word find or a word seek.
This word search is free and needs no signup. Pick one of 10 themes and three levels, then play it in your browser or print a copy with its answer key.
How to Play Word Search in 5 Steps
Every word search works the same way. These steps cover this one, including the controls.
Step 1: Pick a theme and a level
Choose a theme from the menu above the grid, then Easy, Medium or Hard. Each change loads a fresh puzzle.
Step 2: Find a word from the list
The list beside the grid shows every hidden word. Pick one and look for its letters in a straight line.
Step 3: Drag across it, or tap the first and last letter
Drag from the first letter to the last. On a phone you can also tap the two ends, and on a keyboard you can use the arrow keys and Enter.
Step 4: Watch it get crossed off
A found word is circled in color and struck from the list. A wrong line simply fades away, with no penalty.
Step 5: Finish the list, or start a new puzzle
The clock stops when the last word is found. Press New puzzle for another grid; every theme has 9,999 of them at each level.
Easy, Medium and Hard Word Search: What Changes
The three levels change the grid size, the number of hidden words and the directions they can run. Here is the full spec of this word search.
| Level | Grid | Words | Directions | Longest word |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 10 × 10 | 8 | Across and down | 8 letters |
| Medium | 12 × 12 | 12 | Adds both forward diagonals | 10 letters |
| Hard | 15 × 15 | 16 | All 8, including backwards | 12 letters |
Easy suits early readers and anyone who wants a quick round. Medium adds diagonals, which is where most people start to slow down.
Hard is the classic newspaper word search. Every direction is fair game, including words that read right to left or bottom to top.
We Generated 12,000 Word Search Grids. Here's What Hides a Word
In a 15×15 word search, a hidden word's first letter appears in about 10.2 cells. Its rarest letter appears in about 5.8.
That gap is the most useful thing we found. We built 12,000 grids with the same generator that runs this page, then counted what a player has to scan through.
Scan for the rarest letter, not the first
Most people look for a word's first letter, then check its neighbors. But common first letters like S, T and E are everywhere, so most of them are false leads.
Scanning for the word's least common letter cuts the cells to check by about 44% at every level. For OCTOPUS, hunt the P instead of the O; for ZEBRA, go straight to the Z.
About one hard grid in 15 hides a duplicate
Fill the empty cells with random letters and short words start to appear twice. Without a check, 6.8% of hard grids showed some hidden word in two places.
The usual suspects are short words like DEW, OBOE and OAK. So every grid here is checked in all eight directions before you see it, and refilled if any word shows up twice.
How we measured it
We generated 400 puzzles for each of the 10 themes at each level, 12,000 grids in all. Empty cells are filled with letters weighted by how often they appear in English, so E and T are common and Q and Z are rare.
The numbers describe the grids, not how fast people solve them. Source:
scripts/generate-wordsearch-stats.mjs.
8 Tips to Find Words Faster in a Word Search
- 01
Hunt the rarest letter first
Look for the J, Q, X, Z, V or K in a word before anything else. Rare letters stand out, and the grid holds only a few of each. - 02
Look for double letters
Pairs like LL, EE and OO are easy to pick out of a grid. Words such as COFFEE or SQUIRREL give themselves away. - 03
Sweep one direction at a time
Read every row, then every column, then each diagonal. A system beats darting around the grid. - 04
Find the long words first
Long words cross more of the grid and are harder to hide. Once they are circled, the short ones have fewer places to be. - 05
Check the edges
Long words often run along a border, because that is where they fit. Run your eye around the frame early. - 06
Read backwards on Hard
On Hard, a word can start where you expect it to end. If a row reads ELPPA, you have found APPLE. - 07
Use the list as a checklist
Work down the list instead of hunting at random. The crossed-off words show exactly what is left. - 08
Take a short break
Stuck on the last word? Look away for a moment. Fresh eyes catch a pattern that tired ones skip.
Printable Word Search: Print a Puzzle and Its Answer Key
Every puzzle on this page doubles as a printable word search. The printout drops the website around it and keeps only what belongs on paper.
Print the puzzle
Press Print. You get the title, the theme and level, a line for a name and date, the grid and the word list. Your browser's print dialog can also save it as a PDF.
Print the answer key
Press Answer key to print the same grid with every word outlined. The outlines are dark gray, so they stay clear on a black-and-white printer.
Share one puzzle with a class
Use Copy link above the grid. The link names the theme, level and puzzle number, so everyone who opens it gets the same word search.
Word Search Themes
There are 10 themes with 289 different words between them. Each puzzle draws its words at random from the theme, so one word search rarely repeats another.
- Animals: LION, TIGER, ZEBRA, GIRAFFE and more
- Food & Drink: APPLE, BANANA, CHERRY, LEMON and more
- Ocean: WHALE, SHARK, CORAL, REEF and more
- Space: PLANET, STAR, MOON, COMET and more
- Sports: SOCCER, TENNIS, HOCKEY, GOLF and more
- Weather: RAIN, SNOW, SLEET, HAIL and more
- Jobs: DOCTOR, NURSE, TEACHER, CHEF and more
- Music: PIANO, GUITAR, VIOLIN, CELLO and more
- Nature: TREE, FOREST, RIVER, LAKE and more
- Five-Letter Words: APPLE, BEACH, CHAIR, DANCE and more
Seasonal: Christmas
For the holidays there is a separate Christmas word search with six festive themes, from Santa's workshop to the Nativity, and the same three levels.
A warm-up for Wordle
The Five-Letter Words theme uses everyday words like the ones in our five-letter word lists. It makes a gentle warm-up before a round of Wordle.
Word Search for Kids and Classrooms
Teachers use a word search as a spelling check, a vocabulary review or a quiet task for students who finish early. The printable answer key makes marking quick.
For younger children, start on Easy: words only run across and down, and the grid is small. Move to Medium once diagonals feel comfortable.
Each printout carries its puzzle number. You can print the same sheet again next term, or send the link to a substitute teacher.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this word search free?
Can words go backwards or diagonally?
Can I print a word search with the answers?
Can a word appear twice in the grid?
How many words are in each puzzle?
Do I get the same puzzle every time?
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Who invented the word search?
More Puzzles to Play
Finished the list? Try a holiday grid, or switch to a different kind of word game. Everything is in all games.