18 puzzles · all free to play and print
Civil War Word Search
Free Civil War word search puzzles to print or play online.
Play online or print
Blue and Gray
8 words to find
- UNION
- NORTH
- SOUTH
- BLUE
- GRAY
- FLAG
- ARMY
- WAR
Drag from the first to the last letter of a word, or tap the first letter and then the last. The PDF has the puzzle on page 1 and the answer key on page 2.
All 18 Civil War puzzles stay free here. Want them as one printable booklet?
18 printable Civil War word search puzzles
eighteen puzzles in three levels. Easy puzzles are 10 by 10 grids with eight words across and down, medium puzzles are 13 by 13 with twelve words and diagonals, and hard puzzles are 16 by 16 with eighteen words in every direction, backwards too. The themes include major battles, leaders, camp life, the home front, women of the war and ironclad ships. Every puzzle has an answer key and prints on US Letter or A4. Every one of these 18 puzzles is free: play it online above or print its PDF, with the answer key on page 2. No account, no email.
Easy: across and down 6 puzzles
Medium: across, down and diagonal 6 puzzles
Hard: every direction, backwards too 6 puzzles
Optional · all in one file
Want all 18 in one booklet?
You do not need it: every Civil War puzzle above is free to play and to download one by one. The booklet is only for printing them all at once, a 38-page PDF with a cover, a contents page and the answer keys at the back. Buying it also keeps this site free for everyone.
One-time payment, secure checkout with Stripe. US Letter and A4 PDFs, the download link arrives by email.
How to use these Civil War word searches
Teachers can use an easy puzzle as a warm-up before a unit on the 1860s and the hard battle and leader puzzles as extension work for older students. Homeschool families can pair them with a trip to a battlefield. History clubs and care home groups can solve one together and talk through the names. Each PDF has the puzzle on page 1 and the answer key on page 2.
Make your own Civil War word search
Add your own words, a name or a class list to these civil war words and pick a level. The preview is free; the printable PDF with its answer key is $1.99.
Good to know about Civil War word search
Every Civil War puzzle on this page is free to play online and free to print as a PDF with its answer key, one by one. Only the optional booklet, all 18 puzzles bundled into one print-ready file, costs money.
Leaders such as LINCOLN, GRANT and SHERMAN appear beside DAVIS, LEE and JACKSON, and the battle puzzles include places in both the North and the South. The puzzles name people and places, not opinions.
The medium puzzle Abolition and Freedom has EMANCIPATION, PROCLAMATION, THIRTEENTH, AMENDMENT and TUBMAN. The hard puzzle Politics and Documents adds SECESSION, RECONSTRUCTION and the draft riots, for students who want more.
Try the easy Blue and Gray or Famous Leaders, then the medium Major Battles with GETTYSBURG, ANTIETAM and SHILOH. The medium puzzles use 13 by 13 grids with twelve words.
Easy puzzles (10 by 10, words across and down) work from about age 6. Medium puzzles (13 by 13, diagonals added) suit ages 8 to 11. Hard puzzles (16 by 16, every direction, backwards too) are for older kids and adults.
Page 2 of every PDF is the answer key, with each word marked where it hides. When you play online, the Show answers button marks them on the grid.
Every puzzle comes as a US Letter PDF (8.5 by 11 inches) and an A4 PDF (210 by 297 mm). Print at 100% or Actual size.
Every puzzle on this page plays in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer: drag or tap from the first to the last letter of a word. Nothing to install and no account.
Print as many copies as you need for your home, classroom, church group or care home. Please link to this page instead of uploading the files elsewhere.