How it works
Pick a level
Easy for early readers. Hard hides words in all eight directions, including backwards.
Download or print
One clean US Letter page, with the answer key on page two. Nothing to sign up for.
Grab a pencil
Or solve on screen: tap the first and last letter of each word you find.
About this puzzle
Flowers everywhere and the school year almost done. May has May Day and the maypole, Mother’s Day on the second Sunday and Memorial Day on the last Monday, with parades and flags to honor those who served. It is graduation and picnic season, Older Americans Month and National Bike Month. The birthstone is the emerald and the birth flowers are the lily of the valley and the hawthorn.
Easy (10×10) places words across and down only. Medium (13×13) adds diagonals. Hard (15×15) runs words in all eight directions, and its filler letters are borrowed from the word list to create false starts.
All 20 words in this theme: Mother, Flowers, Picnic, Maypole, Parade, Memorial, Honor, Garden, Strawberry, Sunshine, Graduation, Teacher, Blooms, Bees, Emerald, Gemini, Lilac, Bicycle, Hawthorn, Fiesta.
Questions
Can I print copies for my whole class?
Yes. Puzzles are free for classroom and personal use. Use “Shuffle grid” and print to give students different layouts of the same words.
Which level should I choose?
Easy suits grades 2–3: a small grid with words only across and down. Medium adds diagonals for grades 4–6. Hard uses a bigger grid with words in all eight directions, good for middle school and adults.
Is there a large print version?
Yes. Every theme has a large print edition with bigger letters and a roomier grid, made for seniors and low vision.