Printable Animals word search
Twenty-four animals, from a three-letter owl to a nine-letter butterfly. Eight words are hidden in a 12 by 12 grid. The answer key prints on a second sheet, so you can hand out the puzzle and keep the solution.
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Animals word search
Name: ______________________ Date: ______________
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E | M | I | E | T | S | D | A | L | H | O | O |
| 2 | O | R | T | I | E | F | F | A | R | I | G | C |
| 3 | O | K | P | Q | B | O | I | E | E | T | I | H |
| 4 | N | Y | A | I | U | U | A | E | S | U | O | M |
| 5 | I | R | R | M | T | S | S | O | F | G | H | T |
| 6 | H | G | T | S | T | H | O | A | C | M | E | H |
| 7 | P | N | I | L | E | G | R | N | D | S | G | H |
| 8 | L | E | W | R | R | N | U | I | R | N | E | T |
| 9 | O | O | L | E | F | H | M | O | I | U | A | R |
| 10 | D | S | O | T | L | A | H | G | H | N | L | P |
| 11 | K | F | R | R | Y | N | U | R | E | T | T | A |
| 12 | D | S | O | E | T | S | H | E | E | P | U | T |
Words to find
- Horse
- Mouse
- Panda
- Butterfly
- Giraffe
- Dolphin
- Sheep
- Owl
Words run in straight lines: forwards, backwards, up, down or diagonally. Circle each one when you find it.
Animals word search — solution
Highlighted letters show where each word sits.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E | M | I | E | T | S | D | A | L | H | O | O |
| 2 | O | R | T | I | E | F | F | A | R | I | G | C |
| 3 | O | K | P | Q | B | O | I | E | E | T | I | H |
| 4 | N | Y | A | I | U | U | A | E | S | U | O | M |
| 5 | I | R | R | M | T | S | S | O | F | G | H | T |
| 6 | H | G | T | S | T | H | O | A | C | M | E | H |
| 7 | P | N | I | L | E | G | R | N | D | S | G | H |
| 8 | L | E | W | R | R | N | U | I | R | N | E | T |
| 9 | O | O | L | E | F | H | M | O | I | U | A | R |
| 10 | D | S | O | T | L | A | H | G | H | N | L | P |
| 11 | K | F | R | R | Y | N | U | R | E | T | T | A |
| 12 | D | S | O | E | T | S | H | E | E | P | U | T |
Where each word is
| Word | From | To | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| HORSE | G10 | K6 | diagonal, up and right |
| MOUSE | L4 | H4 | across, right to left |
| PANDA | L10 | H6 | diagonal, up and left |
| BUTTERFLY | E3 | E11 | down, top to bottom |
| GIRAFFE | K2 | E2 | across, right to left |
| DOLPHIN | A10 | A4 | up, bottom to top |
| SHEEP | F12 | J12 | across, left to right |
| OWL | B9 | D7 | diagonal, up and right |
Other word search sheets
Birds · Christmas · Colors · Countries · Dinosaurs · Family · Farm · Feelings · Flowers · Food · Fruits · Halloween · Insects · Jobs · Music · Nature · Ocean · School · Space · Sports · Summer · Vegetables · Vehicles · Weather · Winter
What is on the sheet
- One 12 by 12 grid of letters with columns labelled A to L and rows numbered 1 to 12.
- Eight animals words, listed so nobody has to guess what is hiding in the grid.
- A name and date line at the top, which is what turns a puzzle into a worksheet.
- A separate solution sheet, printed on page two, with every word highlighted and its exact position.
How to use it
- Print at 100 percent. The grid is sized from the page width, so a "fit to page" setting stretches the squares and makes the letters uneven.
- Two pages come out. The puzzle is page one and the solution is page two. Print both and cut the solution off, or print page one twice if you want a clean copy per player.
- Black and white is fine. The sheet uses solid fills rather than colour, so it comes out clean on the cheapest printer available.
- Photocopy as many as you need. These sheets are free to reproduce for classroom, club and family use, and no attribution is required on the copy.
- Harder versions are easy. Cross out the word list and let the player work from a category instead, or take the solution sheet away and let the class check each other.
Why a printable word search is still worth printing
A printable word search full of animals, from a three-letter owl to a nine-letter butterfly. The grid is 12 by 12 with eight hidden words running in straight lines in eight directions, and the answer key is on the second sheet.
A paper word search does three things a screen cannot. It works when the connection does not, it gives two people something to race on rather than something to tap on, and it survives a room full of children and six tablets. The grid above is generated from the same word list as the online game, so anyone who gets stuck on a word can move to the screen version without starting over.
Tips for whoever is handing it out
- The list mixes three-letter words with nine-letter ones, so give the short half to the youngest reader and the long half to whoever wants a challenge.
- Every word in this sheet is a real animal, so a child who cannot read can still hunt by shape.
- Let people scan the grid in a fixed order — down each column first, then across, then diagonally. Random scanning is what makes people think they are bad at word searches when they are simply looking in the wrong place.
Prefer to play on a screen
The word search game has a fresh free-play puzzle every time and a daily puzzle where everyone gets the same grid. This exact printable puzzle can be played online as well, letter for letter.