Color Word Search
A color word search with 10 shades, from crimson to scarlet, plus two fixed printable puzzles: eight basic colors for beginners and a 15 x 15 challenge of 16 harder shade names.
Two printable color puzzles
These two puzzles are fixed: the grid is the same every time, so you can print identical sheets for a class or a party. Each has a word list, a Show answers button, a Print button and a printable answer key. Download both as a PDF (with answer keys)
Color Word Search 1: Basic Colors
A 10 x 10 puzzle for beginners. Eight short words, hidden across, down and diagonally down to the right only.
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Color Word Search 1: Basic Colors: answer key
- BLACK: row 5, column 6, diagonally down and to the right
- BLUE: row 4, column 7, diagonally down and to the right
- BROWN: row 6, column 2, diagonally down and to the right
- GOLD: row 8, column 3, across to the right
- GREEN: row 3, column 3, diagonally down and to the right
- PINK: row 6, column 1, down
- RED: row 1, column 8, across to the right
- WHITE: row 9, column 5, across to the right
Color Word Search 2: Color Challenge
A 15 x 15 puzzle with sixteen longer words, hidden in every direction, including backwards and up.
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Color Word Search 2: Color Challenge: answer key
- AQUAMARINE: row 11, column 5, diagonally up and to the right
- BURGUNDY: row 6, column 13, diagonally down and to the left
- CERULEAN: row 12, column 10, diagonally up and to the left
- CHARTREUSE: row 6, column 6, diagonally down and to the right
- EMERALD: row 1, column 1, down
- KHAKI: row 8, column 7, diagonally up and to the right
- LAVENDER: row 8, column 1, diagonally up and to the right
- MAGENTA: row 2, column 10, across to the left
- MAUVE: row 6, column 15, diagonally up and to the left
- MUSTARD: row 15, column 9, diagonally up and to the left
- PERIWINKLE: row 5, column 12, diagonally down and to the left
- SAFFRON: row 15, column 7, across to the left
- TANGERINE: row 10, column 3, diagonally up and to the right
- TURQUOISE: row 1, column 6, across to the right
- VERMILION: row 4, column 6, diagonally down and to the right
- VIOLET: row 9, column 2, down
About this color word search
Color words are among the first things children learn to read, so this is a puzzle that works from kindergarten upward. The default list is a set of ten more interesting names: crimson, amber, teal, indigo, coral, maroon, ivory, lilac, olive and scarlet. Several of them are named after something else, a flower, a fruit, a gemstone, a plant or a bird's coloring, which is a good hook for talking about where color words come from.
The easy puzzle sticks to the basics: red, blue, pink, gold, green, brown, black and white. It is the right level for young readers who are matching words to crayons. The challenge puzzle moves to the shades that paint and fashion catalogs use, such as chartreuse, periwinkle, vermilion, cerulean and saffron, and many solvers will not know all of them, which makes it a good vocabulary puzzle for older students and adults.
For an art lesson, ask students to find a word, then mix or draw that color. For color theory, sort the shades into warm and cool, or into reds, blues and greens. The generator lets you build a list from the colors on your classroom wall or a particular box of crayons.
Word notes
- Crimson: a deep, strong red.
- Amber: a yellow-orange color, also the name of fossilized tree resin.
- Teal: a dark greenish blue, named after the coloring on a teal duck's head.
- Indigo: a deep blue-purple; one of the seven colors of the rainbow in the traditional list.
- Coral: a pinkish orange, named after the marine animal.
- Maroon: a dark brownish red.
- Lilac: a pale purple, named after the flower.
Vocabulary tip
Not everyone sees colors the same way, because some people have a color vision deficiency. Remember that when you teach color words: the printed word in the puzzle is black on white, so it does not depend on seeing the shade.
Difficulty guide
- Generator (default list). The 10 words run from 4 letters (teal) to 7 letters (crimson and scarlet), 5.5 letters on average and 55 letters in all, which fills about 28% of the default 14 x 14 grid. On the default Medium setting, words can run in five directions. Choose Easy for across, down and diagonal-right only, or Hard to add backwards and upwards.
- Easy puzzle. 8 words of 3 to 5 letters in a 10 x 10 grid, with nothing hidden backwards or upwards.
- Challenge puzzle. 16 words of 5 to 10 letters in a 15 x 15 grid, with 11 of them hidden backwards or upwards. The challenge has several long, similar-sounding names: turquoise and tangerine, magenta and mauve, and two blue shades (cerulean and aquamarine) that look alike on the page.
Ways to use it
- Ask students to find each color and color a square in the margin in that shade.
- Sort the ten words into warm and cool, or into dark and light.
- To use your own list, edit the words in the box at the top of the page and press Generate puzzle, or press New layout, same words for a fresh grid. Print it with Show answers ticked to add a separate answer page.
- Which color names in this puzzle are also something else?
- Several: amber (a resin), teal (a duck), coral (a marine animal), ivory (a material), olive (a fruit) and lilac (a flower).
- What are the colors of the rainbow?
- The traditional list is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Indigo is the one most often forgotten, and it is in the default list.
- Is there a puzzle with only basic colors?
- Yes. The easy puzzle on this page uses red, blue, pink, gold, green, brown, black and white in a 10 x 10 grid.
- Can I make a word search from my own color list?
- Yes. Type the colors one per line, pick a grid size and press Generate puzzle.
FAQ
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