Dinosaur Word Search
A dinosaur word search with 10 words, from rex to herbivore, plus two fixed printable puzzles: eight short words for beginners and a 15 x 15 challenge of 16 long names that will test even dedicated fans.
Two printable dinosaur 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)
Dinosaur Word Search 1: Prehistoric Words
A 10 x 10 puzzle for beginners. Eight short words, hidden across, down and diagonally down to the right only.
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Dinosaur Word Search 1: Prehistoric Words: answer key
- BONE: row 9, column 5, across to the right
- CLAW: row 6, column 6, diagonally down and to the right
- EGG: row 5, column 10, down
- HORN: row 2, column 5, across to the right
- NEST: row 1, column 2, diagonally down and to the right
- ROAR: row 2, column 7, down
- TAIL: row 4, column 5, diagonally down and to the right
- TEETH: row 2, column 1, across to the right
Dinosaur Word Search 2: Dinosaur Challenge
A 15 x 15 puzzle with sixteen longer words, hidden in every direction, including backwards and up.
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Dinosaur Word Search 2: Dinosaur Challenge: answer key
- ALLOSAURUS: row 10, column 11, across to the left
- ANKYLOSAURUS: row 4, column 1, down
- ARCHAEOPTERYX: row 9, column 3, across to the right
- BRACHIOSAURUS: row 2, column 3, across to the right
- COMPSOGNATHUS: row 1, column 2, across to the right
- CRETACEOUS: row 14, column 6, across to the right
- DIPLODOCUS: row 7, column 15, across to the left
- HADROSAUR: row 13, column 10, across to the left
- PALEONTOLOGIST: row 11, column 2, across to the right
- PARASAUROLOPHUS: row 1, column 1, diagonally down and to the right
- PTERODACTYL: row 15, column 3, across to the right
- SPINOSAURUS: row 12, column 13, across to the left
- STEGOSAURUS: row 3, column 11, across to the left
- TRIASSIC: row 8, column 7, across to the right
- TRICERATOPS: row 5, column 15, across to the left
- VELOCIRAPTOR: row 6, column 13, across to the left
About this dinosaur word search
Dinosaurs are one of the few topics where children are happy to learn very long, difficult words, so a dinosaur word search is a good place to stretch vocabulary. The default list covers the basics: names of animals (rex, raptor, iguanodon), the science of how we know about them (fossil, skeleton, extinct, amber) and the two types of diet, carnivore and herbivore. Jurassic names the geological period that gave its name to a famous film.
The easy puzzle uses simple words from the prehistoric world: bone, egg, tail, teeth, claw, roar, horn and nest. The challenge puzzle is more demanding than most: triceratops, stegosaurus, brachiosaurus and ankylosaurus are long and share the same -saurus ending, and the grid also hides paleontologist, the scientist who studies fossils, at 14 letters.
A good fact to pass on while solving is that pterodactyl, which is in the challenge, was not a dinosaur: it belonged to a different group of flying reptiles called pterosaurs. Ask students to find it and then decide whether it belongs on a list of dinosaurs. For a unit on prehistoric life, build a puzzle with the generator from the dinosaurs on your classroom display.
Word notes
- Rex: short for Tyrannosaurus rex; rex is Latin for king.
- Raptor: short for velociraptor; the word also names a type of bird of prey.
- Fossil: the preserved remains or imprint of a plant or animal that lived long ago.
- Jurassic: a geological period that followed the Triassic and came before the Cretaceous.
- Iguanodon: one of the first dinosaurs scientists named.
- Amber: fossilized tree resin that sometimes traps insects.
- Herbivore: an animal that eats plants; carnivores eat meat.
Vocabulary tip
Most dinosaur names are built from Greek or Latin pieces. Saurus means lizard, so stegosaurus means roofed lizard. Ask older students to guess what the -saurus words in the challenge might mean.
Difficulty guide
- Generator (default list). The 10 words run from 3 letters (rex) to 9 letters (iguanodon, carnivore and herbivore), 7.0 letters on average and 70 letters in all, which fills about 36% 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 8 to 15 letters in a 15 x 15 grid, with 7 of them hidden backwards or upwards. The challenge has five -saurus names (stegosaurus, ankylosaurus, brachiosaurus, spinosaurus and allosaurus), so ending letters are not enough to identify a word.
Ways to use it
- Ask students to sort the ten words into animals, science words and diets.
- Challenge students to guess the meaning of each -saurus word before checking.
- 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.
- Was a pterodactyl a dinosaur?
- No. Pterosaurs such as pterodactyl were flying reptiles that lived at the same time as the dinosaurs but belong to a different group.
- What does a paleontologist do?
- A paleontologist studies fossils to learn about life in the past. The word is in the challenge puzzle at 14 letters.
- What is the difference between a carnivore and an herbivore?
- A carnivore eats meat and an herbivore eats plants. Both are in the default word list.
- Which dinosaur names are in the challenge puzzle?
- Triceratops, stegosaurus, brachiosaurus, ankylosaurus, diplodocus, spinosaurus, allosaurus, velociraptor, archaeopteryx and hadrosaur, along with prehistoric terms.
FAQ
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