A rebus is a puzzle that uses pictures, symbols or the position of letters to stand for a word or a saying, and these rebus puzzles printable pages are made for children and families. This free set has six PDFs with 44 puzzles in all: thirty picture add-ups for compound words, eight emoji phrase puzzles, six word rebuses and a page to make your own. Every puzzle has an answer key on page 2. Every rebus puzzles printable set is free to download and print.
Quick answer: print one page and ask the child to add the pictures together and say the word, such as sun plus flower for sunflower. Start with the nature add-ups for ages 6 and 7, try the food and home add-ups next and finish with the emoji phrases and word rebuses for ages 8 and up.
Rebus puzzles printable (PDF)
Six sets, each a two-page PDF: the puzzles on page 1 and the answers on page 2 (the make-your-own set has a word idea list). Click a picture to open it.
Which rebus puzzles printable set should you try first?
| Set | Puzzles | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Picture add-ups: nature, food, home and toys | 30 compound words from two pictures | Ages 6 to 8, the easiest start |
| Emoji phrase puzzles | 8 well-known sayings in pictures | Ages 8 and up, families |
| Word picture rebus | 6 puzzles where word position is the clue | Ages 9 and up, a real challenge |
| Make your own rebus | Blank sums and a word idea list | Any age, creative play |
How to solve a rebus step by step
- Name each picture. Say the name of each picture out loud, such as sun and flower.
- Join the parts. Put the two words together and say them quickly, which gives sunflower.
- Look at the position. In a word rebus, ask where each word sits: on top, below, beside or repeated.
- Say it out loud. Rebus answers often sound right even when the spelling is unusual.
- Check the answer key. Turn to page 2 to see the answers.
What a rebus teaches
- Word parts: compound words such as sunflower show children how two small words make a new one.
- Vocabulary: children meet words such as lighthouse, seahorse and raincoat.
- Lateral thinking: a word rebus asks children to read the layout, not just the letters.
- Idioms: the emoji phrase page introduces sayings such as night owl and piece of cake.
Emoji puzzles for family night
- Team race: two teams solve the same page and see who finishes first.
- Rebus riddle: read one puzzle aloud, describe the pictures and let others guess the word.
- Draw and swap: each child draws a rebus on the make-your-own page and swaps with a friend.
- Mixed bag: one add-up page, one phrase page and one word rebus make a nice rainy-day set.
- Car-ride game: read an emoji phrase aloud and let the family guess.
Tips for making your own rebus puzzles
Pick a compound word, such as moonbeam or notebook, and split it into two parts that are easy to draw. Draw each part on the make-your-own page, add a plus sign and leave a line for the answer. For a word rebus, write the words so that their position tells a story, such as one word above another for over. Test your puzzle on a friend before you share it, and give a small hint if the answer is hard.
How these sheets are made
Every sheet is generated by a program. The puzzles were chosen and checked by hand for this page. A program lays out the pictures and prints the answer key from the same list, so each answer matches its puzzle. The pictures are Noto Emoji artwork from Google, used under the Apache License 2.0; the project is on GitHub. A credit line is printed on every page.
Hand out a rebus puzzles printable sheet as a brain-teaser warm-up at the start of a lesson.
Frequently asked questions
6 quick answers
Are these rebus puzzles free to print?
Yes. Print as many copies as you like for your own children or class, with no account or sign-up.
What age are these rebus puzzles for?
The picture add-ups suit ages 6 to 8. The emoji phrase puzzles and word rebuses suit ages 8 and older, including adults.
Are there rebus puzzles with answers?
Yes. Page 2 of every PDF shows the answers, with the pictures next to each word.
What is a rebus puzzle?
A rebus puzzle uses pictures, symbols or letter positions to stand for a word or saying. For example, a sun picture plus a flower picture stands for sunflower.
Are the puzzles original?
Yes. The compound words, phrases and layouts were chosen and checked for this page, and the pictures are open-licensed artwork.
Can I use them in a classroom?
Yes. They work well for early finishers, for a vocabulary center and for a rainy-day game.
More puzzles and word games
- Word scramble printable with picture clues.
- Riddles for kids and crossword puzzles for kids.
- Word search generator and hidden message word search.
- Printable sudoku and printable mazes.
- Dot to dot printables.
- Every puzzle and brain teaser on PrintSheetLab.
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