Reptile Word Search
A reptile word search with 10 words, from lizard to alligator, plus two fixed printable puzzles: eight short reptile words for beginners and a 15 x 15 challenge of 16 more.
Two printable reptile 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)
Reptile Word Search 1: Reptile Words
A 10 x 10 puzzle for beginners. Eight short words, hidden across, down and diagonally down to the right only.
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Reptile Word Search 1: Reptile Words: answer key
- EGGS: row 2, column 3, across to the right
- FANG: row 1, column 5, across to the right
- SCALES: row 8, column 2, across to the right
- SHELL: row 2, column 8, down
- SKINK: row 5, column 6, diagonally down and to the right
- SNAKE: row 4, column 4, across to the right
- TAIL: row 7, column 6, across to the right
- VIPER: row 5, column 3, diagonally down and to the right
Reptile Word Search 2: Reptile Challenge
A 15 x 15 puzzle with sixteen longer words, hidden in every direction, including backwards and up.
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Reptile Word Search 2: Reptile Challenge: answer key
- ADDER: row 15, column 11, across to the left
- ANACONDA: row 1, column 10, across to the left
- BASILISK: row 4, column 2, down
- BEARDED DRAGON: row 15, column 3, diagonally up and to the right
- CAIMAN: row 3, column 10, across to the right
- COPPERHEAD: row 14, column 11, across to the left
- GHARIAL: row 14, column 1, diagonally up and to the right
- GILA MONSTER: row 2, column 3, diagonally down and to the right
- KOMODO DRAGON: row 15, column 15, up
- LEATHERBACK: row 5, column 3, diagonally down and to the right
- MAMBA: row 6, column 7, diagonally down and to the left
- MONITOR: row 2, column 5, across to the right
- RATTLESNAKE: row 15, column 2, diagonally up and to the right
- SEA TURTLE: row 4, column 12, across to the left
- TERRAPIN: row 15, column 14, up
- TUATARA: row 5, column 8, diagonally down and to the right
About this reptile word search
Reptiles are a popular topic for children who love snakes, lizards and turtles, and the default list covers the main groups: lizard, iguana, gecko and chameleon are lizards, python and cobra are snakes, tortoise and turtle are shelled reptiles, and crocodile and alligator are the large crocodilians. Reptiles share a few traits: they have scaly skin, breathe air and are cold-blooded, which means they rely on the environment to warm up.
The easy puzzle uses eight short words: snake, skink, scales, eggs, tail, fang, shell and viper. It includes body parts as well as animals, so it is a good vocabulary builder. The challenge puzzle is a stretch with unusual animals, tuatara, basilisk, gharial and the Gila monster, together with the large species komodo dragon, anaconda and leatherback.
The tricky comparisons are good for discussion: alligators have a broad U-shaped snout, crocodiles have a more pointed V-shaped one; a tortoise lives on land and a turtle in water. Ask students to look up which of the animals they have found live in their own country. Frogs and salamanders are not reptiles but amphibians, which makes a good question for a quick quiz.
Word notes
- Lizard: a reptile with a long body, four legs and a tail.
- Iguana: a large lizard from Central and South America, usually plant-eating.
- Gecko: a small lizard with toes that let it climb smooth surfaces.
- Chameleon: a lizard that can change color and has eyes that move independently.
- Tortoise: a land-living reptile with a high, domed shell.
- Cobra: a venomous snake that can spread the skin of its neck into a hood.
- Alligator: a large reptile with a broad, rounded snout.
Vocabulary tip
Chameleons change color mainly to communicate and to regulate temperature, not just to hide. A good fact to challenge the idea that they simply match their surroundings.
Difficulty guide
- Generator (default list). The 10 words run from 5 letters (gecko and cobra) to 9 letters (chameleon, crocodile and alligator), 6.9 letters on average and 69 letters in all, which fills about 35% 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 4 to 6 letters in a 10 x 10 grid, with nothing hidden backwards or upwards.
- Challenge puzzle. 16 words of 5 to 13 letters in a 15 x 15 grid, with 10 of them hidden backwards or upwards. Komodo dragon and bearded dragon in the challenge both end in the same six letters, and the unfamiliar names tuatara, basilisk and gharial are easy to misread.
Ways to use it
- Sort the ten words into lizards, snakes, shelled reptiles and crocodilians.
- Ask students to find out which reptile lives nearest to their school.
- 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.
- What is the difference between an alligator and a crocodile?
- An alligator has a broad, U-shaped snout, while a crocodile's snout is narrower and V-shaped.
- What is the difference between a tortoise and a turtle?
- Tortoises live on land and have high, domed shells. Turtles live mostly in water and have flatter shells.
- Are frogs reptiles?
- No. Frogs are amphibians. Reptiles have dry, scaly skin and lay eggs with leathery shells.
- Why are reptiles called cold-blooded?
- They cannot make their own body heat as mammals do, so they warm up in the sun and cool down in shade.
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