Dinosaurs Word Search
- VOLCANO
- CLAWS
- CARNIVORE
- AMBER
- FERNS
- BONES
- DIPLODOCUS
- JURASSIC
- TUSKS
- TEETH
- ALLOSAURUS
- STEGOSAURUS
Created for free at puzzleandprint.com
Your word search
Dinosaurs Word Search, Answer Key
- VOLCANO
- CLAWS
- CARNIVORE
- AMBER
- FERNS
- BONES
- DIPLODOCUS
- JURASSIC
- TUSKS
- TEETH
- ALLOSAURUS
- STEGOSAURUS
Created for free at puzzleandprint.com
Or take one that is already made
Four sheets, each with a different job. Every one is a two-page PDF, the puzzle, then the answer key on its own page.
Dinosaur names are long, strange and phonetically demanding, which is exactly why children who resist reading practice will happily do this. Stegosaurus is eleven letters of decoding dressed up as fun.
Because of that length, use a grid of fifteen squares or more. The list also mixes in the surrounding vocabulary (fossil, herbivore, extinct), so a sheet doubles as a topic glossary.
Dinosaur names are the longest words most young children willingly learn, and that is exactly what makes them useful here. A child who can find stegosaurus in a grid is doing real letter-by-letter reading, not shape recognition.
Because the words are long, use a larger grid. Fifteen squares upward stops the longer names filling whole rows and pushing everything else out to the edges.
Common questions
Are the species names too long for younger children?
STEGOSAURUS and TRICERATOPS are eleven letters and more, and they sit on the later sheets for that reason. The large-print sheet uses RAPTOR, FOSSIL, VOLCANO, CLAWS, SCALES, JURASSIC and EXTINCT, which are shorter and just as much about dinosaurs.
Why are MUSEUM and DIGSITE in a dinosaur list?
Because that is where children actually meet dinosaurs. The list mixes the animals with the work of finding them, so FOSSIL, SKELETON, PALEO and CRATER sit beside the species. It makes the sheet about the subject rather than only about the names.
How many words can I use?
Up to twenty-five. Ten to fifteen is comfortable for most grids. If you add more than the grid can hold, the tool tells you which words did not fit rather than silently leaving them out.
Why did one of my words not fit?
Either it is longer than the grid is wide, or the grid filled up before it could be placed. Try the next size up, remove a word, or press New puzzle for a different arrangement, a word that fails one layout often places fine in the next.
Can I make it easier for younger children?
Yes. Set difficulty to Easy so words only run left to right and top to bottom, and use a 10 by 10 grid with five to eight short words. That combination is manageable for most children who can read the words on the list.
Is there an answer key?
Always, and it prints on its own page so you can hand out the puzzle without it. Each answer is marked directly on a copy of the grid.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up, no email, and no watermark on the printed sheet. Puzzles are built in your browser, so your word list never reaches us.
Can I use these puzzles in my classroom?
Yes, use them with your class, your family, your club, or your care home, and print as many copies as you need. The one thing we ask is that you do not resell the sheets themselves.
Want to know when new printables go up?
New printables when they go up, mostly seasonal, a few times a year.