There are three fall word search puzzles on this page: an easy 12x12, a harvest-themed 14x14, and a genuinely mean 16x16 for the puzzle person in your life. Each one is a free two-page PDF, puzzle on page one and the answer key with every word highlighted on page two.
No email gate and no watermark across the grid. Each fall word search printable is clean black and white on US Letter, so it photocopies well and doesn't drink your ink. Print at 100% and you're done.
The easy one: Fall Word Search (12x12)
The gentlest of the three. Twelve short, familiar words in a 12x12 grid, which makes it right for early readers, a mixed table at a harvest potluck, or anyone who wants ten pleasant minutes with a pencil and a mug of something warm.
Download the PDF (free, includes answer key)
The full list:
PUMPKIN, ACORN, LEAVES, CIDER, HAYRIDE, SWEATER, HARVEST, MAPLE, ORCHARD, BONFIRE, SCARECROW, FOLIAGE
Teachers tend to grab this one for the last twenty minutes before dismissal in October. It photocopies cleanly, and nobody has to explain what a HAYRIDE is.
The medium one: Autumn Harvest (14x14)
A size up and a step harder. If you grew up saying autumn instead of fall, consider this the autumn word search of the set: the list trades pumpkins for PERSIMMON, CORNUCOPIA, and WOODSMOKE, and the longer words snake further across the grid.
Download the PDF (free, includes answer key)
The full list:
EQUINOX, CORNUCOPIA, PERSIMMON, FLANNEL, CHESTNUT, MIGRATION, AMBER, RUSTLING, GOURD, CRANBERRY, WOODSMOKE, LANTERN
WOODSMOKE is the sleeper here. Half its letters overlap with other words, so you'll trace three false starts before the real one shows up.
The hard one: Cozy Season (16x16)
Words hide in all directions in this grid, backwards included, and the list was chosen to hurt a little. CHRYSANTHEMUM is thirteen letters long. PETRICHOR is the smell of rain on dry ground, and it is much easier to enjoy than to find diagonally in reverse.
Download the PDF (free, includes answer key)
The full list:
PETRICHOR, HIBERNATION, GOSSAMER, SMOLDERING, CHRYSANTHEMUM, OVERWINTER, DECIDUOUS, BRAMBLE, TWILIGHT, KINDLING, HEARTHSIDE, QUILTED, MIST
Budget a rainy Saturday afternoon for it. Solvers who finish and want more punishment in the same weight class should head for the hard word search printables, which run 18x18 with twenty words apiece.
Make a fall word search with your own words
The grids above cover the season in general. They don't know your season: the orchard you drive to every October, the chili cook-off, the name of the kid who refuses to wear a jacket.
Our word search maker turns whatever list you type into a real puzzle you can preview in the browser before paying anything. Typing, arranging, and previewing cost nothing, and there's no account to create. If you want the download, it's $9.99 once for a print-ready PDF bundle in four sizes with the answer key, plus one free edit round for the word you'll inevitably want to swap.
Set the difficulty to easy for the kids' table or tricky for the adults, and the generator handles the rest. And if your family prefers clues to letter grids, the same tools build an autumn crossword from questions you write yourself; the crossword download is $12.99.
Build a fall word search with your own words
More puzzles for the season
Fall has a way of stacking occasions back to back. For the spooky end of October, the halloween word search set has a kids' version and a harder one for the party. By late November you'll want the thanksgiving word search on the kids' table while the turkey rests.
FAQ
Are these fall word search puzzles really free?
Yes. If you searched for a free printable fall word search you can hand out in the next five minutes, any of the three PDFs qualifies. The answer key ships inside the same file, and you can print as many copies as you need.
Which puzzle fits a classroom?
The 12x12 for elementary grades, the 14x14 for middle school and up. Both fit a short activity block, and the vocabulary in the harvest puzzle is decent seasonal spelling practice. The 16x16 will outlast the class period.
Can I put our own words in one?
That's what the maker above is for. Type your list, preview the whole finished puzzle at no cost, and pay $9.99 only if you want the four-size PDF bundle with the answer key.
