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Sports Word Search (free printable)

A free sports word search with twenty-two words (soccer, gymnastics, referee, whistle, trophy), a word bank and an answer key for P.E. class, field day or an indoor-recess day.

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

Sports Word SearchSports Word SearchNameDateWHISTLEEMEDALGHYOCSYIAEIWMRHOBTCHOCKEYMIHSEAPLOCMHRBASEBALLSVOLLEYBALLNYMVORRBFDGEPJSBEEMCATELIYCLEAHMTBCCRSWIMMINGFKEYEKHEOENZTROPHYKREROTEAMIEDEEOMDTENNISLNBLCOACHRELAYTLSKIINGCMMTUWTIIFOOTBALLWACACCUSOFTBALLSAMBASKETBALLWUFIND THESE WORDSSOCCERBASKETBALLBASEBALLSOFTBALLFOOTBALLVOLLEYBALLTENNISSWIMMINGGYMNASTICSHOCKEYSKIINGGOALNETHELMETWHISTLEREFEREECOACHTEAMTROPHYMEDALRELAYRACKETPuzzle 57758Free at teach.peabody.kids
Puzzle ·
Sports Word Search: answer keySports Word Search: answer keyEvery word to find is circled.WHISTLEEMEDALGHYOCSYIAEIWMRHOBTCHOCKEYMIHSEAPLOCMHRBASEBALLSVOLLEYBALLNYMVORRBFDGEPJSBEEMCATELIYCLEAHMTBCCRSWIMMINGFKEYEKHEOENZTROPHYKREROTEAMIEDEEOMDTENNISLNBLCOACHRELAYTLSKIINGCMMTUWTIIFOOTBALLWACACCUSOFTBALLSAMBASKETBALLWUPuzzle 57758Free 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 grid, and each one appears once.

About this set

Twenty-two sports words in a 15 by 15 grid: the games (soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, football, volleyball, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, hockey, skiing), the equipment (goal, net, helmet, whistle, racket), the people (referee, coach, team) and the rewards (trophy, medal, relay). It names no teams, players or leagues. Basketball, volleyball and gymnastics are ten letters long and make the hard finds for fourth and fifth grade, and soccer, hockey, goal and team make an easy start for first grade. It is a quiet activity for a rainy-day recess, and the answer key is on page two.

Grades: 1st to 5th grade. Best in: May, June, September.

The words to find

Soccer · Basketball · Baseball · Softball · Football · Volleyball · Tennis · Swimming · Gymnastics · Hockey · Skiing · Goal · Net · Helmet · Whistle · Referee · Coach · Team · Trophy · Medal · Relay · Racket

How to use it: five ideas

  1. Rainy-day recess: print a stack and let students work in pairs while the playground is closed.
  2. Sort the answers: students sort the words into games, equipment and people, and add one word of their own to each group.
  3. Our favorites: each student picks a favorite sport from the puzzle and the class graphs the results by tally marks.
  4. Rules writing: students pick one game and write two rules for it using at least two of the other words in the puzzle.
  5. Field day packet: include the puzzle in the packet students bring home before field day, for a first look at the words they will hear.

Related

Questions

Does the puzzle mention specific teams or players?

No. It uses the names of games, equipment and roles only, so there is nothing to look up and nothing a family would object to. Add your school’s own teams to the box if you like.

Can I choose a harder puzzle?

Yes. Choose Hard for backwards words and switch the grid to 20 by 20. For first grade, choose Easy, use a 12 by 12 grid and delete the longest words.

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.

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