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
Eight planets in order from the Sun, Mercury to Neptune, plus dwarf planet Pluto, our Moon and two famous moons of Jupiter and Saturn, Europa and Titan. Words like orbit, axis, rotation and crater help with the vocabulary of a solar system unit. For a puzzle about rockets, astronauts and galaxies, try the Outer Space word search.
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: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Sun, Moon, Pluto, Planet, Orbit, Rings, Dwarf, Titan, Europa, Crater, Axis, Rotation.
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.