5 Free Fall Word Search Printables (2024)

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Published: Jul 27, 2023 · Modified: Jun 12, 2024 by Stephy Leave a Comment This post may contain affiliate links. · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Looking for a fun autumn activity for kids and adults? Grab one of these free fall word search printables with different designs and difficulty levels. Each puzzle includes an answer key.

As the leaves change and the chilly air sets in, there’s nothing quite like curling up with a good word search to celebrate the season. These free printables are the perfect way to embrace the spirit of autumn.

Whether you’re a child or an adult, you will enjoy these fun fall word puzzle activities. There are four skill levels: easy, medium, hard, and harder, so they are perfect for all ages. They make a great Thanksgiving activity for children and adults.

These fall word searches aren’t just a fun activity; they are also educational and help improve cognitive development. For kids, they enhance vocabulary, spelling, and memory skills. They are also great for stress relief and help improve brain function for adults.

Whether you’re in a classroom setting, at a family gathering, or just looking for a cozy indoor activity on a chilly day, these themed word searches are brimming with fall-related words, and will provide tons of entertainment for all.

If you are looking for other fun fall activities, try these fall crafts, fall coloring pages, thanksgiving coloring pages, turkey crafts, or pumpkin coloring pages.

How to Play

In a word search puzzle, there’s a grid full of random letters and a list of hidden words to find within this grid.

Your task is to locate each word from the list within the grid. The words can be arranged horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. They can also be forwards or backward, depending on the game’s difficulty level. There are easy, medium, and hard puzzles to choose from here.

To play, simply scan the grid, line by line or in blocks, looking for the first letter of the word you’re trying to find. See the tips and tricks section below for more suggestions on how to make finding the words easier.

Once you’ve spotted the first letter, look at the adjacent letters to see if they form the word you’re looking for.

If you’ve correctly found a word from the list, circle it, highlight it, or draw a line through it. Continue this process until you’ve found and marked all the words from the list in the grid. You can refer to the answer key if you get stuck!

Tips and Tricks

• Start with Longer Words: The longer the word, the easier it is to spot since it covers more grid space.
• Look for Unusual Letters: Words containing distinctive or less frequently used letters (like Q, X, Z, J, K, V) stand out more in the grid.
• Use a Ruler or Straight Edge: A straight edge can help you focus on one line at a time.
• Search for One Word at a Time: Focus on finding a specific word before moving on to the next.
• Scan Horizontally and Vertically: Scan each row from left to right, then each column from top to bottom. This systematic method ensures you don’t miss any section of the grid.

Fall Word Search Puzzles

Fall Leaves Word Puzzle

Skill Level: Hard. It places words in 6 of the 8 possible directions (four compass directions and two left-to-right diagonals.) The remainder of the puzzle is filled with any letters of the alphabet. A few words are allowed to overlap.

Age Group: This one is a great choice for teenagers or adults. There’s also a “harder” difficulty level puzzle below if you want more of a challenge.

Fall Word List:

• Fall Leaves
• Tree
• Pumpkin
• Brown
• Yellow
• Orange
• Nuts
• Apple
• Acorn
• Corn
• Sweater
• Jacket
• Pinecone
• Harvest
• Squash

Buffalo Check Fall Puzzle

Difficulty Level: Medium. Words are arranged either horizontally from left to right, vertically from top to bottom, or diagonally from the left-hand side to the right. There are no overlapping words in this puzzle.

Age Group: This puzzle is an excellent pick for older children or teenagers.

Word Bank:

• Red
• Rake
• Gourd
• Hay Bale
• Game
• Moon
• Scarecrow
• Football
• Hayride
• Hay
• Owl
• Crow
• Sunflower
• Leaf
• Squirrel
• Autumn

Autumn Word Search

Skill Level: Easy Word Search – Words are arranged either from left to right or top to bottom; there are none overlapping.

Age Group: This one is perfect for younger kids, such as elementary school students.

Fall Word Bank:

• Autumn
• Cornstalk
• Wind
• Clouds
• Seeds
• September
• October
• Leaf
• Preserves
• Leaves
• Apple
• Cider
• Hay
• Bonfire
• Green
• Candy Corn

Fall Leaves Word Search

Difficulty Level: Medium – Positions words in a left-to-right, top-down manner, or along the two diagonals moving from left to right. None of the words are allowed to overlap.

Age Group: This printable puzzle is an excellent choice for older kids or teens.

Fall Words:

• Leaves
• Tree
• Pumpkin
• Apple
• Happy
• Reap
• Spice
• Fall
• Bountiful
• Crops
• Chestnuts
• Breezy
• Acorn
• Corn
• Latte
• Crisp

Fall Leaves Puzzle

Level of Difficulty: Harder – It positions hidden words in any of the eight possible orientations. The unoccupied areas of the puzzle are then filled with either letters extracted from your chosen words (thus increasing the difficulty in identifying the words). Some of the words will overlap. Additionally, it sporadically embeds short fragments of words from your list, generating misleading “partial word decoys” that distract those attempting to solve the puzzle as they search for the words.

Age Group: This is the most challenging puzzle for adults wanting a real challenge!

Fall-Themed Words Included:

• Foliage
• Crisp
• Cozy
• Scarf
• Cornstalks
• Frost
• Gold
• Woods
• Chili
• Hike
• Brisk
• Maize
• Season
• Festival
• Cobweb
• School

More Word Searches

More Fall Printables

If you tried one of these fall word searches or any other printable activities on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in 📝 comments below!

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