18 puzzles · all free to play and print
Elements Word Search
Free Elements word search puzzles to print or play online.
Play online or print
Common Elements
8 words to find
- GOLD
- SILVER
- IRON
- COPPER
- TIN
- LEAD
- ZINC
- NICKEL
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 Elements puzzles stay free here. Want them as one printable booklet?
All 18 Elements word search puzzles
eighteen puzzles in three levels: easy 10 by 10 grids with eight words across and down, medium 13 by 13 with twelve words and diagonals, hard 16 by 16 with eighteen words in every direction, backwards too. Words are element names, groups and chemistry terms. Themes include Gases in the Air, Noble Gases and Halogens, Transition Metals and Atomic Science. 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 Elements 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 Elements word searches
Use the easy puzzles as a warm-up at the start of a chemistry unit, or hand the transition metals and noble gases grids to students who finish early. Science clubs can pair a puzzle with a periodic table poster. Adults who like long science words can try the hard grids on their own. Each PDF has the puzzle on page 1 and the answer key on page 2.
Make your own Elements word search
Add your own words, a name or a class list to these elements words and pick a level. The preview is free; the printable PDF with its answer key is $1.99.
Good to know about Elements word search
Every Elements 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.
Each puzzle picks 8, 12 or 18 words, so together they cover most families of the periodic table: noble gases, halogens, alkali metals, transition metals, lanthanides and the superheavy elements, but not every single element.
Gases in the Air, Metal Elements and Reading the Table are good starting points, and Noble Gases and Halogens or Properties of Matter fit ages 10 to 12 who are learning the periodic table.
Words follow US spelling, so you will find aluminum and cesium rather than aluminium and caesium. Latin and Greek Roots shows where symbols such as Au, Fe and Pb come from.
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.