Free Printable Thanksgiving Word Search

Eighteen Thanksgiving words, from Wampanoag to leftovers, on a 15 x 15 grid with an answer key. For grades three to five in the short week before the break, and for the kids' table while the turkey rests.

Thanksgiving Word Search grid
O	N	Y	Y	L	E	E	T	L	W	O	N	H	T	N
I	Y	O	L	Q	D	I	Y	H	S	U	K	C	M	B
O	S	A	V	A	M	E	T	R	A	D	K	N	S	A
D	P	F	R	E	K	A	E	P	Y	N	F	F	P	K
K	B	A	O	R	M	V	Y	R	I	T	K	H	H	K
C	P	C	U	O	O	B	R	F	S	L	F	F	Q	N
W	H	T	O	T	T	E	E	E	L	N	G	W	U	E
A	B	V	F	R	B	B	V	R	R	O	G	R	N	L
M	Y	E	J	N	N	R	A	A	N	N	W	O	I	G
P	L	V	A	E	A	U	Y	L	I	V	B	E	C	M
A	C	R	E	H	Y	L	C	F	L	H	G	H	R	F
N	C	S	D	V	I	E	F	O	S	A	A	A	U	E
O	G	F	A	M	A	U	C	I	P	A	W	O	T	A
A	S	R	A	T	T	R	W	X	B	I	P	I	E	S
G	G	F	R	S	L	I	Y	C	N	T	A	P	E	T

For the short school week

In many schools Thanksgiving week is two or three days long, and by the last of them nobody is at their best. A word search suits it: it needs no explaining, it is quiet for fifteen minutes, and it is finished before the early dismissal. Written for grades three to five, with words running forwards, down and on both diagonals.

The list covers three things. The history: Pilgrim, Mayflower, Wampanoag. The harvest and the meal: harvest, cornucopia, feast, turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry and pie. And the day as children know it: November, parade, football, wishbone, family, thankful and leftovers. Cornucopia is the longest word at ten letters, and the one most children have never had to spell.

At the kids' table

Print one per child and put it at their place with a pencil before anyone sits down. It holds the table while the last dishes come out and the grown-ups find chairs. Pair a younger cousin with an older one: one reads the word bank aloud, the other finds the word. Keep the answer key in the kitchen to settle arguments.

Easier or harder

For second grade, click Easy so every word reads forwards or down, and shrink the grid to 13 x 13 so the letters print larger. If the history words are new to the class, write Mayflower, Wampanoag and cornucopia on the board and say them together before the puzzle starts.

For middle school, or a ten-year-old who finished in five minutes, click Hard for all eight directions and set the grid to 16 x 16. Cranberry and leftovers read backwards are a fair test.

A thankful follow-up

Each child picks one word they found and writes a sentence about why they are thankful for it. Family is the easy choice; leftovers and football get the funniest answers. Write the sentences on paper feathers and pin them round a paper turkey on the classroom door, and the door is decorated until December.

Printing

The PDF has the puzzle and word bank on page one and the answer key on page two. For the kids' table, print on heavier paper so it survives being near the gravy, and print the key once for the cook. For a class set, print one puzzle per student and one key, and leave the key on your desk for students to check their own grids when they finish.

The 18 words in this puzzle

The grid is 15 x 15. Edit the words, the grid size or the allowed directions above and the puzzle is rebuilt as you type.

Turkey
Stuffing
Gravy
Cranberry
Pie
Feast
Harvest
Thankful
Family
Pilgrim
Mayflower
Wampanoag
Cornucopia
November
Parade
Football
Wishbone
Leftovers

Printable Thanksgiving Word Search and answer key: a 15 x 15 letter grid and a word bank that starts with Cornucopia, Cranberry and Family. — This puzzle with two words found. The answer key comes on a page of its own.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Wampanoag on the list?

The Wampanoag are the Native nation whose homeland included the place where the Plymouth colony was built, and about ninety Wampanoag men were at the 1621 harvest feast the holiday remembers. Many classes now teach the day from both sides, and the word gives that part of the lesson a name to find. It is said WAHM-puh-NO-ag.

Can it start a lesson on the 1621 harvest?

Yes. After the puzzle, sort the words into two columns: things the people at the 1621 feast would have known, and things that came later. Parade and football are easy. Pie and cranberry start the better discussion: cranberries grew wild nearby, but historians think there was no sugar for a sauce and no pie on the table at all.

Will it keep the kids' table busy until dinner?

For about fifteen minutes with an eight-year-old, which is roughly how long carving takes. For a longer wait, print two versions: the puzzle as set, then click Hard and print again for after the first one is done. The words are the same, so the second puzzle is quicker to start and harder to finish.

Can I add our own family dishes?

Yes. Type each on its own line: sweet potato, cornbread, green beans, mac and cheese. Two-word dishes are fine: the grid runs the letters together, and the word bank shows the name as you typed it. Keep each one to fifteen letters or fewer so it fits the grid, and make the grid 16 x 16 once the list passes twenty words. If a dish contains a word already on the list, such as pecan pie and pie, delete one of them, or the shorter word can be found twice. For a puzzle of your family's dishes alone, start from a blank list in the word search maker.

Is there a Thanksgiving bingo game too?

Yes. Thanksgiving bingo has fifty dinner-table words, from cranberry sauce to stretchy pants, for the whole family to play at once. The word search suits the children before dinner; bingo suits everyone after it.

Thanksgiving Word Search

Your puzzle

Preview · 15x15 · 18 words placed

Words to find