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Boredom Busters for Kids

Printable Word Puzzles for Kids: Great Sites for Word Searches, Crosswords, & Word Scrambles

Printable word search puzzles are a great way to keep little brains engaged.
Printable word search puzzles are a great way to keep little brains engaged.
8/15/23 - By Amelia Eigerman

One of my favorite parts of going out to eat as a kid was doing the word searches on the placemats. (Is that a thing everywhere? And can I have free games with my dinner as an adult, please?) Printable word games and word search puzzles can give today's kids that same thrill without heaving to leave home.

There are tons of free printable word search puzzles and word games that will keep your kids entertained and using their brains. Whether you’re looking for car games for a road trip or you just want something to do on a rainy afternoon, we’ve got you covered with the best word search printable puzzles for kids of all ages.

If you're itching for more word games or printable fun, check out our lists of free online word games for kids to play together, games like Wordle for kids, and 100 free printable activities for kids. Our Boredom Busters for Kids Guide also has lots of great activities to cure the doldrums.

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Printable Word Puzzles for Kids: Create a story with free printable word games from Education.com.
Create stories with free printable word games from Education.com.

Printable Word Games for Elementary Aged Kids (5-10 years)

1. Homynym Matching Activity from K5 Learning

Early readers will love these simple homonym worksheets from K5 Learning. After you’ve raced through these activities, check out the other printable word games on offer. There’s a whole section dedicated to kindergarteners and packed with great printables.

2. Crosswords for Kids from World Game World

Word Game World has crossword puzzle collections specifically for kids. There are also puzzles for adults that are rated by difficulty, making it easy to find slightly harder puzzles for middle schoolers or advanced puzzlers.

3. Free Printable Word Games from Education.com

With a free account you can download and print any of the hundreds of themed worksheets and activities on Education.com. Search the site's catalog filled with word searches, crossword puzzles, and more. I love that you can filter the printables by grade level to find the ones that are perfect for your kids.

Printable Word Puzzles for Kids: Download themed crossword packs from Tree Valley Academy.
Download themed crossword packs from Tree Valley Academy.

Printable Word Games for Middle Schoolers (11-13 years)

4. Themed Crossword Packs from Tree Valley Academy

Tree Valley Academy offers free themed crossword puzzle packs that are perfect for older kids. From insects to sports and everything in between, there’s a puzzle for everyone. The website also has other types of word puzzles including word searches and scrambles.

5. Word Puzzle Printables from Puzzles for Kids

Puzzles for Kids has tons of word puzzle printables (and math puzzles, if you’re looking for that sort of thing). I particularly like the site's cryptogram quotes for kids, which teach children the basics of codebreaking. I mean, who doesn’t want to learn to be a superspy?

Printable Word Puzzles for Kids: Create your own word search with Super Teacher Worksheets.
Create your own word search with Super Teacher Worksheets.

Customizable Word Games for Kids

6. Custom Word Searches and Crosswords for Kids from ABCYa!

ABCYa! has a very intuitive online interface where kids can make their own word puzzles. The site offers both a crossword puzzle maker and a word search tool, and you can print out your puzzle when it’s done. These puzzles are super quick to make and so fun to share with friends or siblings.

7. Make Your Own Word Search with Super Teacher Worksheets

This site has an amazing free custom word search tool that you can use to make your very own word search printables. I love all the options this website offers when making your puzzle. You can change the difficulty (which determines the puzzle's size and whether there are backwards and diagonal words), and of course enter your own word list. We had so much fun making our own word searches!

Photos courtesy of the sites