How many players are on a cricket team?

A cricket team has eleven players. In this puzzle, cricket is a sport; on the insects page it is an insect.

Where does rugby get its name?

Rugby is named after Rugby School in England, where the game developed in the early 19th century.

Can I make a word search for my school's sports day?

Yes. Type the events, one per line, choose a 14 x 14 grid, and print with an answer key.

Which sports are in the easy puzzle?

The easy puzzle is about actions and equipment rather than sports names: swim, kick, jump, ball, goal, team, race and ski.

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Sports Word Search

A sports word search with 10 sports, from soccer to cricket, plus two fixed printable puzzles: eight action words for beginners and a 15 x 15 challenge of 16 more sports.

Words (one per line, or comma separated)

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Difficulty

Puzzle title

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Two printable sports 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)

Sports Word Search 1: Sports Action Words

Easy 10 x 10 grid · 8 words · 3 to 4 letters

A 10 x 10 puzzle for beginners. Eight short words, hidden across, down and diagonally down to the right only.

Name: ____________________ Date: ______________

TQUUDFGLHDTGFAHUIOIPKHDAARACESSJFDIRKICKEAATGTLJJPCJDGATPTBEFBUEOESKISTTAMFAMAWWOAHLPMLLCIWDSLLHMBSM

BALLGOALJUMPKICKRACESKISWIMTEAM

Sports Word Search 1: Sports Action Words: answer key

TQUUDFGLHDTGFAHUIOIPKHDAARACESSJFDIRKICKEAATGTLJJPCJDGATPTBEFBUEOESKISTTAMFAMAWWOAHLPMLLCIWDSLLHMBSM

BALL: row 7, column 2, diagonally down and to the right
GOAL: row 6, column 4, diagonally down and to the right
JUMP: row 6, column 2, diagonally down and to the right
KICK: row 4, column 7, across to the right
RACE: row 3, column 6, across to the right
SKI: row 7, column 7, across to the right
SWIM: row 7, column 10, down
TEAM: row 6, column 6, down

Sports Word Search 2: Sports Challenge

Hard 15 x 15 grid · 16 words · 6 to 10 letters · 9 hidden backwards or upwards

A 15 x 15 puzzle with sixteen longer words, hidden in every direction, including backwards and up.

Name: ____________________ Date: ______________

LFKXOFDOELSLZEGASCUDGGLUELBTDNSSKATINGAAUAINIXCOLFJIIBCRNIDWBLIVUFEYCARNATOALETOOEPKNTOHGRSABOSLLABTEKSABEBUALAUMQOAFISDBTFODINAASFGMIEAEVJRMNMARATHONLNOYLAIAYGMETPTLSWIMMINGGIJEUONCNEGNILTSERWMCBVTRIATHLONFGAJLLABTFOSBJNZJTI

BADMINTONBASEBALLBASKETBALLFENCINGGYMNASTICSKARATELACROSSEMARATHONNETBALLROWINGSKATINGSOFTBALLSWIMMINGTRIATHLONVOLLEYBALLWRESTLING

Sports Word Search 2: Sports Challenge: answer key

BADMINTON: row 7, column 3, diagonally down and to the right
BASEBALL: row 5, column 1, down
BASKETBALL: row 7, column 15, across to the left
FENCING: row 8, column 12, diagonally up and to the left
GYMNASTICS: row 12, column 10, diagonally up and to the left
KARATE: row 6, column 9, diagonally up and to the right
LACROSSE: row 2, column 8, diagonally down and to the right
MARATHON: row 10, column 8, across to the right
NETBALL: row 11, column 2, up
ROWING: row 6, column 15, up
SKATING: row 3, column 2, across to the right
SOFTBALL: row 15, column 8, across to the left
SWIMMING: row 12, column 2, across to the right
TRIATHLON: row 14, column 3, across to the right
VOLLEYBALL: row 10, column 3, diagonally up and to the right
WRESTLING: row 13, column 13, across to the left

About this sports word search

Sports vocabulary gets used constantly in school, which makes this one of the most practical word search topics. The default list is ten sports that people play around the world: soccer, tennis, hockey, rugby, cycling, boxing, golf, surfing, archery and cricket. It leans toward individual and team sports from many countries, so students will recognize some of them and meet others for the first time.

The easy puzzle is made of action words, such as swim, kick and jump, and equipment words like ball and goal. These are good for younger children who are still learning to spell the words they use in physical education. The challenge puzzle moves to longer sports names, basketball, gymnastics, volleyball and triathlon among them, and includes sports that are less common in the US, such as netball and lacrosse.

Try the puzzle as a warm-up in a PE lesson, then ask each student to name a sport they play that is not on the list. For a school sports day, build a puzzle from the events on the program with the generator. Teams can race to find the words, and the answer key gives positions for quick checking.

Word notes

Cricket: a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven.
Rugby: a team game played with an oval ball, named after Rugby School in England.
Archery: shooting arrows at a target with a bow.
Hockey: a team sport played with sticks and a ball or puck, on grass or on ice.
Cycling: racing or riding bicycles, on roads, tracks or mountain trails.
Surfing: riding waves on a board.
Boxing: a combat sport in which two fighters wearing gloves try to land punches.

Vocabulary tip

Cricket is also an insect, and the insects page has it too. Ask students how they could tell which meaning a puzzle intends, and what clue the rest of the word list gives.

Difficulty guide

Generator (default list). The 10 words run from 4 letters (golf) to 7 letters (cycling, surfing, archery and cricket), 6.1 letters on average and 61 letters in all, which fills about 31% 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 4 letters in a 10 x 10 grid, with nothing hidden backwards or upwards.
Challenge puzzle. 16 words of 6 to 10 letters in a 15 x 15 grid, with 9 of them hidden backwards or upwards. Five of the sports end in -ball (basketball, volleyball, softball, baseball and netball), so a solver can easily follow the wrong one in the challenge puzzle.

Ways to use it

Ask students to sort the sports into team and individual, then into indoor and outdoor.
Give each team a sport to find first, then have them teach the class one rule of it.
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.

How many players are on a cricket team?: A cricket team has eleven players. In this puzzle, cricket is a sport; on the insects page it is an insect.
Where does rugby get its name?: Rugby is named after Rugby School in England, where the game developed in the early 19th century.
Can I make a word search for my school's sports day?: Yes. Type the events, one per line, choose a 14 x 14 grid, and print with an answer key.
Which sports are in the easy puzzle?: The easy puzzle is about actions and equipment rather than sports names: swim, kick, jump, ball, goal, team, race and ski.