This free Thanksgiving word search set has six printable puzzles, from an easy 10 by 10 grid for kindergartners to a hard 17 by 17 search with backwards words for older kids and adults. Every puzzle has its answer key on page 2 and prints on US Letter or A4. Pick one for the kids’ table, a classroom party or a quiet ten minutes while the turkey roasts. Every Thanksgiving word search is free to print.
Thanksgiving word search printables
Click a picture for the PDF. Each printable is two pages: the puzzle with a word list and a name line, then the answer key with every word highlighted.
Which puzzle is right for your child?
| Puzzle | Grid | Words | Directions | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 10 x 10 | 10 | Across and down | Ages 5 to 7, kindergarten and first grade |
| Classic | 13 x 13 | 12 | Across, down and diagonal | Ages 7 to 10, grades 2 to 4 |
| Hidden message | 9 x 9 | 12 plus a message | Across, down and diagonal | Ages 7 and up |
| Gratitude | 13 x 13 | 14 | Across, down and diagonal | Ages 7 and up, and gratitude lessons |
| Thanksgiving dinner | 15 x 15 | 15 | Across, down and diagonal | Ages 8 and up |
| Hard | 17 x 17 | 20 | All eight directions, including backwards | Ages 10 to adult |
The difference between levels is mostly the directions. In an easy word search every word reads left to right or top to bottom, so children only scan two ways. Diagonals double the work, and backwards words make the hard puzzle feel like a real challenge, even for adults.
Words in the puzzles
| Puzzle | Words to find |
|---|---|
| Easy | acorn, corn, family, feast, gravy, harvest, leaves, pie, thankful, turkey |
| Classic and hidden message | acorn, autumn, corn, family, feast, gravy, harvest, leaves, parade, pie, thankful, turkey |
| Gratitude | caring, family, friends, giving, grateful, helping, home, hugs, kindness, love, share, smile, teachers, thankful |
| Thanksgiving dinner | biscuits, butter, casserole, corn, cranberry, gravy, green beans (GREENBEANS), pie, potatoes, pumpkin, rolls, squash, stuffing, turkey, yams |
| Hard | autumn, casserole, cornucopia, cranberry, drumstick, family, feast, football, gratitude, gravy, harvest, Mayflower, November, parade, pilgrims, potatoes, pumpkin, stuffing, thankful, wishbone |
A few of the harder words are worth a quick chat while children search: Every Thanksgiving word search uses words children hear around the holiday table.
- Cornucopia: a “horn of plenty”, a horn-shaped basket spilling over with fruit and vegetables, used as a symbol of a good harvest.
- Mayflower: the ship that carried the Pilgrims from England to Plymouth, in what is now Massachusetts, in 1620.
- Wishbone: the forked bone of a turkey. Two people pull it and, by tradition, whoever keeps the bigger piece makes a wish.
- Gratitude: the feeling of being thankful, the idea behind the whole holiday.
How to use a Thanksgiving word search
- The kids’ table: print the easy and classic puzzles so siblings of different ages can race each other fairly.
- Classroom parties and early finishers: the gratitude word search leads straight into a “what are you thankful for?” circle.
- Car rides and waiting rooms: fold a puzzle into a bag with a pencil for the trip to grandma’s house.
- Family challenge: give adults the hard puzzle and time it. Under 10 minutes is a strong score.
- Hidden message: after finding all 12 words, read the leftover letters row by row, from the top, to reveal the secret greeting.
Tips for finding every word
- Hunt for rare letters first. W, Y and K are less common, so WISHBONE, MAYFLOWER and DRUMSTICK stand out quickly.
- Find the first two letters together. For MAYFLOWER, look for every M with an A next to it in any direction.
- Check backwards. In the hard puzzle, read rows right to left too: words like PARADE can hide as EDARAP.
- Cross off as you go, on the word list and in the grid, so you never search for the same word twice.
- Short words last. Long words fix big parts of the grid and make the short ones easier to spot.
Make your own word search
Want the family’s names, your own Thanksgiving menu or words from a class story? Open the word search generator with the Thanksgiving theme, type your words, choose a grid size from 8 by 8 to 20 by 20 and download a new PDF with its answer key. You can also add a hidden message, such as a guest’s name, or solve the puzzle on screen. You can also make your own Thanksgiving word search with family names and favourite foods.
Printing tips
- Print at 100% (actual size). The grids are sized to fill the page with letters large enough for young readers.
- Print only page 1 for players and keep page 2, the answer key, for the grown-up in charge.
- All six puzzles are black and white, so they copy cleanly on a school printer.
Print a Thanksgiving word search for each child at the kids’ table to keep them busy before dinner. Print the Thanksgiving word search in black and white to save ink.
Frequently asked questions
7 quick answers
Is there an answer key for each puzzle?
Yes. Page 2 of every PDF is the answer key with each word highlighted.
What is the easiest Thanksgiving word search for kindergarten?
The 10 by 10 easy puzzle: 10 words that run only across and down, in large letters.
Is there a hard puzzle for adults?
Yes. The 17 by 17 puzzle hides 20 words in all eight directions, including backwards and diagonal words.
What words are in a Thanksgiving word search?
Common ones are turkey, pie, corn, harvest, feast, family, thankful, gravy and parade. The hard puzzle adds Mayflower, cornucopia, pilgrims and wishbone.
Can I print the puzzles on A4 paper?
Yes. Every puzzle has a US Letter and an A4 PDF.
Can I make a word search with my own words?
Yes. The word search generator has a Thanksgiving theme you can edit, with grids from 8 by 8 to 20 by 20.
How do the six Thanksgiving word search puzzles differ in difficulty?
The main difference is the directions. In the easy puzzle every word reads left to right or top to bottom, diagonals double the work in the middle levels, and the hard 17 by 17 grid hides words in all eight directions, including backwards.
More Thanksgiving printables
- How many days until Thanksgiving: live countdown and turkey countdown printables
- Disguise a turkey printable templates and disguise kit
- Thanksgiving worksheets with bingo, an acrostic and a card
- Thanksgiving bingo cards
- Thanksgiving jokes for kids and Thanksgiving trivia questions
- Halloween word search and the word search generator
Sources
- Mayflower, Wikipedia (the 1620 voyage to Plymouth)
- Congress Establishes Thanksgiving, National Archives
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