25 puzzles · all free to play and print
Hippo Word Search
Free Hippo word search puzzles to print or play online.
Play online or print
Meet the Hippo
8 words to find
- HIPPO
- CALF
- MUD
- POD
- BULL
- COW
- TUSK
- TAIL
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 25 Hippo puzzles stay free here. Want them as one printable booklet?
All 25 Hippo word search puzzles
twenty-five 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 cover hippo bodies, habits and African homes. Themes include Meet the Hippo, Hippo Habits, Pygmy Hippo and Hippo Countries. Every puzzle has an answer key and prints on US Letter or A4. Every one of these 25 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 9 puzzles
Medium: across, down and diagonal 8 puzzles
Hard: every direction, backwards too 8 puzzles
Optional · all in one file
Want all 25 in one booklet?
You do not need it: every Hippo puzzle above is free to play and to download one by one. The booklet is only for printing them all at once, a 52-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 Hippo word searches
Use the easy puzzles as a science center activity before a zoo trip, or as a quiet-time sheet for early readers. Teachers can pair the African Rivers and Hippo Countries puzzles with a map lesson. Older fans can try the conservation and ecology grids on a long drive or a rainy afternoon. Each PDF has the puzzle on page 1 and the answer key on page 2.
Make your own Hippo word search
Add your own words, a name or a class list to these hippo words and pick a level. The preview is free; the printable PDF with its answer key is $1.99.
Good to know about Hippo word search
Every Hippo 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 25 puzzles bundled into one print-ready file, costs money.
A pygmy hippo is a much smaller, shy relative of the common hippo that lives alone in the forests and swamps of West Africa. The medium puzzle Pygmy Hippo covers where it lives and why it is endangered.
Start with Meet the Hippo, Hippo Body or Baby Hippo. They use short words like calf, mud, tusk and milk in a 10 by 10 grid with words only across and down.
Mostly. Some puzzles cover the places and neighbors hippos share, such as African rivers, parks, countries, river birds and savanna animals, so the full set also teaches a little geography and ecology.
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.