Free Printable Halloween and Thanksgiving Word Searches (With Answer Keys)

The short answer

You can print free seasonal word searches for Halloween, fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas at bossfeed.fun/seasonal/. Each set has three to five full-size puzzles, an answer key that always prints with the sheets, and no account, email wall or watermark. Press Print and you're done, or choose Save as PDF in the print dialog if you'd like to keep the file.

Below is what's in each set, how the puzzles work, and a few ideas for using them at a party, in a classroom or at the kitchen table.

What's available right now

Every set on the seasonal page is built the same way, and there are four to pick from:

Printable Halloween word search - Five puzzles, on grids from 8 by 8 up to 11 by 11. Three come from Shakespeare's witches in Macbeth ("Double, double toil and trouble," "By the pricking of my thumbs" and the brew list, "Eye of newt, and toe of frog"), one is Puck's night speech from A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the fifth is the opening of Poe's "The Raven."
Free printable fall word search puzzles - Five puzzles about mists, harvest and leaf-fall, drawn from poems about autumn, including Keats's "To Autumn" and William Cullen Bryant's "The Death of the Flowers," which suits a grey October afternoon. The grids range from 7 by 7 up to 10 by 10.
Printable Thanksgiving word search - Four puzzles on 9 by 9 and 10 by 10 grids, built around writing about Thanksgiving by John Greenleaf Whittier (twice), Harriet Beecher Stowe and Will Carleton.
Christmas word search PDF - Four puzzles for the holidays, including Longfellow's "Christmas Bells" and "The Mistletoe Bough." There's also a separate Christmas set for adults on the seasonal page, with three more puzzles.

Each page has a "Print all sheets + answers" button, plus a button to print any single puzzle.

How the puzzles work

Most free word searches give you a list of theme words and a grid. These do something a little different. A famous piece of seasonal writing is the answer, and the words hidden in the grid are its missing words. The page shows the quote with blanks in it, and as you find the words, you can fill the blanks and read the whole passage.

For example, on the Halloween sheet the quote reads "Double, double ____ and _______ ; ____ ____ and ________ ______." The words to find are TOIL, TROUBLE, FIRE, BURN, CAULDRON and BUBBLE. Find them all and you've rebuilt Shakespeare's witches. It's a better souvenir than a list of decorations, and it gives the puzzle a built-in finish line.

The grids are small enough to finish in one sitting: 7 by 7 to 10 by 10, with 5 to 8 words each. Words run across, down and diagonally, and some run backwards, so a puzzle that looks easy at a glance still takes a few minutes of careful scanning.

A note on where the writing comes from

Every quote is in the public domain, and we record why for each one rather than simply asserting it: the author, the work, the year, the page it was read from, and the reasoning behind the copyright conclusion all live alongside the text. A separate second check records that the passage is family-safe, because an old text being free to reprint says nothing about whether it's suitable for a classroom.

How to print them

Open the set you want - Pick Halloween, fall, Thanksgiving or Christmas from the seasonal page.
Choose what to print - "Print all sheets + answers" gives you the full set. The individual Print buttons give you a single puzzle.
Print or save - Use your browser's print dialog. Choose Save as PDF if you'd like to keep a file or email it.
Set aside the answers - The answer key always prints with the sheets, so pull that page out before you hand the puzzle to anyone. On screen the answers are hidden behind a "show the answers" button so you can't spoil it by scrolling.

You can print as many copies as you like, for a class, a party, a care home or a kitchen table. If you'd prefer to solve on a phone or laptop, press Play on the seasonal page and solve it in the browser.

Ideas for using them

Classroom warm-up - Halloween and Thanksgiving sheets are quiet, self-contained activities for the last ten minutes of a lesson. They also bring a little poetry into the day, because finishing the grid means reading the passage.
Party table filler - Print one or two copies per table and leave pens out. The short grids mean nobody gets stuck for long.
Care homes and family gatherings - The grids are full-size and the puzzles print on ordinary paper. If larger type would help, our large print section has other printables.
Waiting rooms and long afternoons - The Thanksgiving set is described as being for the table, the wait, and the afternoon after.
Reading practice - Ask a younger solver to read the finished quote out loud. It's a quick way to talk about what an old poem is actually saying.

Printing for a crowd

If you're printing a class set or a stack for a party, a little planning helps.

Print one test copy first - Check that the grid fits the page and the letters are easy to read before you run thirty.
Print the answers once - You only need a single answer sheet for the whole group, so skip it on the extra copies if your printer lets you pick pages.
Let people pick - Spread the different puzzles from one set around the room. Some people like Shakespeare's witches and others prefer an autumn poem, and nobody ends up with the same sheet as their neighbor.
Have a few spares - Pens run dry and sheets end up with coffee on them.

Want a word search with your own words?

If you'd like a puzzle built from a spelling list, the names of everyone at your party or this week's class vocabulary, use our free word search generator. Paste your words, choose a grid size from 8 by 8 up to 20 by 20, pick which directions the words run, and print. The answer key can go on its own page. It runs entirely in your browser, so nothing you type is sent anywhere. There are also built-in themes if you'd like a starting point.

Which one should I pick?

Younger solvers - The 7 by 7 and 8 by 8 grids are the friendliest. The fall set has the smallest grid.
Mixed ages at a party - Hand out different puzzles from the same set and compare when everyone finishes.
Adults who like a longer sit - The 10 by 10 grids and longer quotes take a bit more patience.

Frequently asked questions

Are the seasonal word searches really free?

Yes. They're free to print as many times as you like, with no account, email wall or watermark. The answer key is included.

Can I save them as a PDF?

Yes. In your browser's print dialog, choose Save as PDF where it asks where to send the page. That gives you a file you can keep or share.

Do the answers come with the printout?

Yes. The answer key always prints with the sheets. On screen it's hidden until you choose to show it.

Can I use them in a classroom?

Yes. You can print as many copies as you like for a class. Each quote has also been checked to be family-safe.

Can I make my own word search for a holiday?

Yes. The word search generator lets you paste your own list, pick the grid size and which directions the words run, and print it with an answer key.