Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Halloween Word Search (free printable)

A free Halloween word search with twenty-two friendly words (pumpkin, cobweb, broomstick, scarecrow), a word bank and an answer key. Print it for the party or for early finishers.

22 words. “Polar bear” becomes POLARBEAR. Add a clue after a colon (“snow: white flakes”) to put clues in the bank.
Grid size
Difficulty
Up to 40 letters. They fill the first leftover squares, so the letters nobody circles spell it. On the board it flies into place when the last word is found.
Sort and find: the look-alikes hide in the grid and the word bank too, so children decide which to circle.

Use this list in: bingo cards

Halloween Word SearchHalloween Word SearchNameDateCSAKUEALLMGBCZSDEUHHVHSIOHTRTMOONSHWPNSBROOMSTICKTIIPTIUNNYTENAGRTDUUCVAMPIREROECEMMOOWLAEKOEBAHRPEBGISTSOICLTRAKIWGZNSEKQRISAIHEHAUNTEDONNGBLRCANDYWDBJFIND THESE WORDSPUMPKINGHOSTWITCHCOSTUMECANDYSPIDERCOBWEBSKELETONMUMMYBROOMSTICKCAULDRONSCARECROWBATMOONTREATSWIZARDMASKHAUNTEDLANTERNVAMPIREOWLGOBLINPuzzle 73988Free at teach.peabody.kids
Puzzle ·
Halloween Word Search: answer keyHalloween Word Search: answer keyEvery word to find is circled.CSAKUEALLMGBCZSDEUHHVHSIOHTRTMOONSHWPNSBROOMSTICKTIIPTIUNNYTENAGRTDUUCVAMPIREROECEMMOOWLAEKOEBAHRPEBGISTSOICLTRAKIWGZNSEKQRISAIHEHAUNTEDONNGBLRCANDYWDBJPuzzle 73988Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key ·

To save a PDF, choose Print, then “Save as PDF” as the printer. Only the sheets print.

All 22 words are in the pumpkin, and each one appears once.

About this set

Twenty-two Halloween words in a 15 by 15 grid: short ones every first grader can spot (bat, owl, moon, mask) and long ones that take a steady eye (broomstick, scarecrow, skeleton, cauldron). Everything is the cartoon kind of spooky, the vocabulary of picture books and costume parades, with no gore. On Medium the words run across, down and diagonally; Hard adds backwards words for fifth graders who want a challenge, and Easy keeps first graders to across and down. It is a calm task for the busy afternoon of a class party, and the answer key on page two makes it fast to check.

Grades: 1st to 5th grade. Best in: October.

The words to find

Pumpkin · Ghost · Witch · Costume · Candy · Spider · Cobweb · Skeleton · Mummy · Broomstick · Cauldron · Scarecrow · Bat · Moon · Treats · Wizard · Mask · Haunted · Lantern · Vampire · Owl · Goblin

How to use it: five ideas

  1. Party station: set out the puzzle and pencils at a quiet table for students who need a break from the party noise.
  2. ABC order: after finding the words, students copy them in alphabetical order on the back of the page.
  3. Three-word story: each student picks three words from the puzzle and writes a short, funny sentence that uses all three.
  4. Syllable sort: sort the words into one-, two- and three-syllable groups (bat, pumpkin, skeleton) and count them.
  5. Early finishers: print a few extras and keep them in a Halloween folder for the week before October 31.

Related

Questions

Is there a harder version?

Yes. Choose Hard to add words that read backwards, and switch the grid to 20 by 20. Choose Easy and a 12 by 12 grid for first grade.

Can I use fall words instead of spooky ones?

Yes. Edit the words in the box and swap the spooky ones for leaves, harvest and acorn, or use the Fall word search, which has no Halloween in it.

Can I change the words or the difficulty?

Yes. Edit the 22 words in the box, choose Easy, Medium or Hard, pick a grid size from 8 to 25 and a shape, and add a secret message if you like. The puzzle rebuilds as you change it, and any word that cannot fit is listed.

Can we play it on the board?

Yes. Press “Play on the board”: the class finds words by dragging across them or tapping the first and last letters, each find plays a note, and H gives a hint. Press F to fill the projector.

How do I save it as a PDF?

Press Print and choose “Save as PDF” as the printer. The puzzle is page one and the answer key is page two.

How do I get a different layout?

Press “Make another”. The same words are placed in a new arrangement, which is handy when neighbors should not have the same puzzle.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. Your edits stay in this browser. No sign-in, no ads.