Word puzzles for halloween

The Spruce / Kaley McKean

Halloween word search puzzles are a great way for children to celebrate Halloween and reinforce their spelling and vocabulary skills at the same time. These Halloween word search puzzles are so fun, kids won’t even know they’re learning something at the same time.

The Halloween word searches below are organized into three skill levels: easy puzzles that have 15 or fewer words to search for, medium puzzles that have 16 to 30 words, and challenging puzzles that have more than 31 words to find. The best part: All of these Halloween word search puzzles can be easily printed right from your home computer.

You also make your own Halloween word search puzzle or try your hand at a fall word search puzzle or another holiday word search. If you’re looking for more ways to entertain your child during Halloween, you can check out these Halloween coloring pages, online Halloween games, and Halloween printables.

  • Easy Printable Halloween Word Searches

    Hero Images / Getty Images

    These easy Halloween word searches all have 15 or fewer Halloween words that need to be found to solve them, making them a great option for younger children who are in grades 1–3.

    1. Kid-Friendly Halloween Word Search: There are just six hidden words in this easy Halloween word search for little ones.
    2. Halloween Word Search: There are six words to find in this word search that features a jack-o-lantern full of colorful candy.
    3. Halloween Fun Word Search: Kids will need to find nine fun words to complete this puzzle.
    4. Halloween Object Word Search: This unique Halloween word search gives children are nine images to search for instead of words.
    5. Halloween Treats: There are nine Halloween treats to find in this word search that also doubles as a coloring page.
    6. Halloween Ghosts Word Search: Kids will need to find nine hidden words in this puzzle all about Halloween ghosts.
    7. Costume Craze Word Search: 10 costume words need to be found in this festive word search puzzle.
    8. Spooky Color Word Search: There are ghosts waiting to help you find 10 colors in this Halloween-themed word search puzzle.
    9. Halloween Monsters Word Search: This adorable Halloween word search will have kids hunting for the names of various monsters.
    10. Picture Halloween Word Search: This Halloween word search is perfect for younger kids because there are only 12 words to find and each word is accompanied by an image.
    11. Halloween Costumes Word Search: Challenge little ones to find 12 Halloween costumes in this fun, spider-covered word search puzzle.
  • Moderately Difficult Printable Halloween Word Searches

    Jacob Wackerhausen / Getty Images

    In these Halloween word searches, you’ll find a range of 16–30 words that need to be found in each puzzle. These puzzles are recommended for children in grades 4 and 5.

    1. Free Halloween Word Search Printable: This free Halloween word search puzzle has 17 Halloween words to find. It would make for a great classroom printable, thanks to the fun, festive border.
    2. Witch Word Search Puzzle: Find 19 witch words to solve this medium-level Halloween word search.
    3. Ghost Word Search Puzzle: Complete this Halloween word search by finding 20 ghost-related terms.
    4. Pumpkin Word Search Puzzle: After children have found the 20 words in this Halloween word search, they can put the remaining letters together to learn an interesting fact about pumpkins.
    5. Dracula Word Search: Find 20 words that have to do with Dracula to solve this word search.
    6. Scary Words Word Search Puzzle: After kids have found 20 scary words, they can combine the remaining letters to learn a fact about the scariest movie ever.
    7. Frankenstein Word Search Puzzle: This Halloween word search puzzle is Frankenstein themed and you’ll need to find 20 words to solve it.
    8. All Hallow’s Eve: Find 20 words having to do with Halloween in this free, printable word search puzzle.
    9. Halloween Candy Word Search Puzzle: There are 20 types and brands of candy to find in this word search puzzle. Warning: Kids might be craving candy after this!
    10. Horror Movies Word Search Puzzle: Search out the titles of 20 different horror movies in this free Halloween word search puzzle.
    11. Halloween Word Search: Find 23 hidden words in this spooky Halloween word search covered with flying bats.
    12. Autumn and Halloween Word Search: There are 23 hidden words having to do with Autumn and Halloween in this not-so-spooky word search puzzle.
    13. Creative Halloween Word Search Puzzle: Celebrate victory after finding 25 words in this Halloween word search.
    14. Happy Halloween Word Search: Find 27 Halloween words in this free printable Halloween word search that features a cat and a witch’s hat.
    15. Printable Halloween Word Search: This super cute Halloween word search requires finding 27 words to win.
    16. Challenging Halloween Words Search: Find 30 hidden words in this Halloween word search puzzle.
    17. Halloween Word Search: There are 30 Halloween-themed words hiding in this puzzle.
    18. Halloween Party: There are 30 hidden words to find in this puzzle, but it’s a bit easier to hunt them down because all the words go forward.
  • Challenging Printable Halloween Word Searches

    Justin Paget / Getty Images

    These are some tough Halloween word searches, containing 31 words and more and geared towards kids in grades 6 and up. Bonus: They’re great for adults as well! up and are great for children in grades 6 and older. They’re great for adults as well!

    1. Halloween Hardest Word Search: This tough Halloween word search has 35 words to find.
    2. Halloween Candy: There are 40 hidden words—all popular Halloween candies—to find in this puzzle.
    3. The Ultimate Halloween: Find 50 hidden words and phrases in this very difficult Halloween word search puzzle.
    4. Halloween: There are 50 hidden words to find in this word search puzzle that’s great for older kids.
    5. It’s Spooky Season Y’all: You’ll need to find 50 hidden words in this spooky yet fun Halloween word search puzzle.
  • Online Halloween Word Searches for All Levels

    Astrakan Images / Getty Images

    Here are a few online Halloween word searches that are all completed online. They range from the easy level to more challenging puzzles.

    1. Halloween Word Search: This unique Halloween word search puzzle is completely online. Use your mouse to find the 11 hidden words, then click the «New Game» button to be given all new words.
    2. Lucky Number 13 Halloween Word Search: Use your mouse to find the 13 hidden words in this online Halloween word search.
    3. Monster Halloween Puzzle: You’ll need to find 50 words to win this online Monster Halloween word search. 

14 Free Printable Halloween Word Puzzles

These Halloween word puzzles have been a consistent favorite of our readers year after year. I know that teachers and homeschooling parents use them a lot for fun homework assignments in October. They also make great party favors or party activities.

When my youngest turned 7, we had a Halloween birthday party for her, and I printed out these for the kids. Several of them were so happy finding words that they didn’t want to play any of the more active games! It’s always a good idea to have a wide variety of things for children to do. Some kids are more introverted than others, and would rather enjoy quiet time than loud games like musical chairs or dancing games. This is especially important for children on the autism spectrum, who can get over-stimulated easily (especially in a party situation) and can recharge by disconnecting for a while with a solo activity like these worksheets.

Download our Halloween Worksheets Bundle of 185+ pages of Halloween activity pages all at once here and get our 90+ page Halloween Activity Book for FREE!

Halloween Word Scrambles

I’m gearing up early for Halloween this year – I’ve been creating so much fun content for the fall I can’t wait to share it with all of you! These printable Halloween word puzzles are great for 3rd grade and up – have the kids unscramble the letters and find the hidden phrase when the worksheet is completed!

Halloween Word Ladders

My teacher friends love word ladders! They are a little challenging for me to make, I must admit, because I am no walking thesaurus. So when I’m in the mood to put some word ladder worksheets together I jump on the chance. These Halloween puzzles were super fun to do – though I tried doing one starting with the word ‘ghost’ to no avail!

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Halloween Word Searches

Halloween Crossword

When I originally posted this crossword, I never made an answer key. But all the animal names in the following word search are the same words used in the crossword puzzle. So these two word puzzles can double as vocabulary practice!

Another Halloween Word Search

Since it essentially contains the answer key to the above Crossword, we’re leaving it here even though we already have a lot of word searches above.

Special Bonus – Halloween Verb Practice Worksheet

  • Home»
  • Word Search»
  • Occasions»
  • Halloween

Free Printable Halloween Word Search. Download and print terms related to the popular fall seasoned festival Halloween celebrated in October. Download and print this Halloween word search puzzle or play online.

Recommended: Check out this Advance Word Search Maker to create commercial use printable puzzles.

Paper Version — Download and Print

PDF will include puzzle sheet and the answer key.

Play Online — Press and hold left mouse button and drag to select the letters on the grid below

Puzzle Settings:

Grid

Difficulty

Sort alphabetically

Lowercase letters

Use word list letters

Regenerate

More Occasions Puzzles

  • Halloween Candy Word Search Puzzle

    Halloween Candy

  • Labor Day Word Search Puzzle

    Labor Day

  • Presidents Day Word Search Puzzle

    Presidents Day

  • Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer Word Search Puzzle

    Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer

Browse all Occasions Puzzles

Free Printable Halloween Word Search. Download and print terms related to the popular fall seasoned festival Halloween celebrated in October.

WORDS LIST: MUMMY, BLACK CAT, BONE, BOO, CANDY, EVIL, FEAR, GHOST, GRAVE, HALLOWEEN, HAUNTED, HORROR, PUMPKIN, SCARE, SKELETON, SPIRIT, SPOOKY, VAMPIRE, WITCH, ZOMBIE

Puzzles

Hunt for the hidden Halloween words in this word hunt puzzle.

3rd through 6th Grades

Students can use the clues to figure out the Halloween-themed words in this crossword.

2nd through 4th Grades

How many words can you unscramble

3rd through 8th Grades

Solve this pumpkin cryptogram puzzle to discover the answer to two funny Halloween riddles.

1st through 4th Grades

Two or more players.  Players have one minute to brainstorm as many words as they can for each category.

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Find the pumpkin symbol patterns hidden in the puzzle.

Draw a spooky ghost by connecting the dots.

Kindergarten and 1st Grade

A fun October calendar with a picture of a boy and a girl scarecrow at the top.

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Halloween Math

This page has math mystery pictures, color-by-number activities, and more. Topics include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, time, and ordered pairs.

Halloween Reading & Writing

This page has Halloween-themed reading comprehension passages (fiction, non-fiction, and poetry). There are also several writing prompts and graphic organizers.

More Halloween Worksheets

Our Halloween index page will link you to seasonal coloring pages, Halloween math worksheets, Halloween early literacy (phonics) resources, Halloween games, and much more.

Sample Worksheet Images

Halloween Worksheets- Crossword Puzzle

Halloween Worksheets - Puzzles and Games

Halloween Worksheets - Games

Halloween Word Search Puzzle

Word searches help students recognize patterns. This means they make an excellent cognitive exercise to keep your mind sharp.

This Halloween word search puzzle emphasizes the spooky vocabulary terms that you always hear on October 31. And it’s not only Halloween vocabulary, but students learn spelling by finding words in any direction.

In this Halloween Word Search Puzzle, students have to circle all 15 Halloween words at the bottom of the worksheet. After the first student completes the puzzle, they win the game.

Halloween Word Search Puzzle Words

1. PUMPKIN
2. COSTUME
3. GHOST
4. HALLOWEEN
5. SCARE
6. WITCH
7. CANDY
8. MONSTER
9. DARK
10. SKULL
11. VAMPIRE
12. LANTERN
13. SPOOKY
14. EVIL
15. DRACULA

Related Holidays and Halloween Worksheets

If you need more holidays and Halloween worksheets, see our free printable activity sheets below.

  • 5 Christmas Worksheets: Santa Claus-Approved and Free
  • 10 Christmas Coloring Worksheets For All Ages
  • 7 Halloween Worksheets: Spooky Activities for the Classroom
  • 10 Halloween Coloring Sheets: Free and Print-Ready

Download these free printable Halloween Word Search puzzles for the whole family to do as part of your Halloween celebrations! There are three different level word searches – easy, medium, and hard – with different words related to the spooky season. Just download, print, and solve!

Free Printable Word Searches for Halloween!

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These Halloween word search puzzles are fun for kids and adults alike, and are a perfect activity for the spooky season!

If you can’t go Trick or Treating, why not print off some of my Halloween printables, including these word searches to still celebrate and have fun!

There are three different word search puzzles in this set – easy, medium, and hard. With these different difficulty levels it means the whole family can get involved.

All the words and phrases are of course related to Halloween!

  • There are 10 simple, single words to find in the easy puzzle, words appear horizontally and vertically and forwards only.
  • There are 20 words and phrases in the medium puzzle, words appear horizontally, vertically, and diagonally and forwards only.
  • There are 30 words and phrases in the hard puzzle, words appear forwards and backwards and in all directions – horizontally, vertically, and diagonally.

Also included is the answer sheets to all the puzzles should you have trouble finding all of the words/phrases.

Puzzles like this word search for Halloween are also fab for those with a competitive nature!

Whether it is by yourself and trying to solve the puzzle against a timer, or with other people and seeing who can find all the words first.

As you find the words, cross them off the list.

I like to use highlighter pens to mark words when I find them, as opposed to crossing them through.

Highlighting the words is best for children as the letters can still be clearly seen (useful when words cross paths on the grid).

  • You will find the download links further down this page surrounded by a purple box. Tap the purple download buttons to save the file(s) to your device.
  • Printables are available in two paper sizes – A4 and US Letter (8.5″ x 11″). Download the size that is appropriate for your printer.
Free Printable Halloween Word Searches

Benefits of Word Search Puzzles

Word searches are great brain training puzzles for people of all ages.

They are fun to do and they have some great benefits including:

  • Developing word recognition
  • Developing pattern recognition
  • Encourage problem-solving
  • Increasing vocabulary
  • Improving spelling
  • Can help to boost your memory and brain development

More Word Search Printables

Looking for more word search printables to download? Right-click and open these ones in a new tab to check out next:

  • Free Printable Easter Activities: Easter Word Search
  • Mardi Gras Word Search | Free Printable Activity
  • 3 Free Printable 4th of July Word Search Puzzles (Easy, Medium & Hard!)

Over the years I’ve created a variety of printables – for crafts, parties, organisation, celebrations like Halloween, Christmas, and more! It makes me so happy to know that you LOVE them as much as I love creating them! Here are 100+ Free Printables to download and use!

Download Halloween Word Search

Click the download link to save the printable file(s) to your computer.
The Shop opens in a new tab/window.

Visit The Purple Pumpkin Shop for both premium and FREE printables that you won’t find on my main blog!


The post is part of the Crafty October series on The Purple Pumpkin Blog, filled with free printables, crafts, recipes, and more for Halloween! You can check out Crafty October from 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012 for tons of awesome Halloween ideas and inspiration!

Crafty October on The Purple Pumpkin Blog

The free printable(s) is (are) a PDF and can be opened with the free-to-use Adobe Reader. Printables designed and created by The Purple Pumpkin Blog and its Designers are for PERSONAL USE ONLY and NOT FOR RESALE under any circumstances. Please read the full Terms and Conditions. You are welcome to print these free printables at a print shop if you don’t have access to a printer, however, some print shops may not print licensed characters. Colors may vary slightly on printing due to different screen and printer settings. You may share this free printable blog post on social media, including Pinterest, and on your blog/website with a link to this blog post. Please DO NOT share the PDF on social media or on your blog/website. If you use any of my printables it would be awesome to know about it! Post a picture on the social media platform that you hang out on, and follow me: Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest! Use the hashtag #TPPBprintables so I can find you. I hope you enjoy these free printables!

Printable Halloween Word Search

There’s no doubt that Halloween is the spookiest time in the year. Embrace these season scares with this Halloween Word Search. Games can have as many as 23 Halloween-related words, all of which have been carefully picked to keep them relevant. You can even download or print your puzzles for later use offline. These puzzles are excellent games for adults and kids alike, with each difficulty level taking games up a notch.

Our smart Word Search system provides you with the ability to choose avatars, a unique name, a difficulty level, and the topic you’d like the Word Search to surround. You also have the ability to join a friend’s game or have them enter your own, as well as choosing to play singleplayer against the computer. This is a great way to test your knowledge and improve your mind’s agility.

  • Multiplayer and singleplayer modes available
  • Dozens of keywords handpicked for Halloween
  • Suitable for adults and children
  • Pick from three difficult levels
  • Download and print puzzles for later use

Free Halloween Word Search Online Game

Enjoy our free Halloween Word Search puzzle online in real-time battle with your friend, or play a classic single-player game.
There are easy, medium, and hard difficulty levels for new and advanced players.

The Word Search Battle Puzzle Demo

The word search battle game screen block

Get ready for a scare with this multiplayer Halloween Word Search. Easy system and countless subjects to choose from.

Halloween Word Search Printable Puzzles

Break out your pens or pencils and get your eyes ready.
Free printable Halloween word search is the perfect solo activity for a rainy day for both kids and adults.
All the words are hidden vertically, horizontally, or diagonally—in both directions.

  • Hard

    15×15 grid, up to 23 hidden words

    Printable Halloween Word Search

    Print or Download pdf

  • Medium

    10×10 grid, up to 15 hidden words

    Printable Halloween Word Search

    Print or Download pdf

  • Easy

    10×10 grid, up to 5 hidden words

    Printable Halloween Word Search

    Print or Download pdf

Puzzle Vocabulary Words

Below you can see all possible words that the topic Halloween has.
Depends on difficulty level you select in the game amount of words hidden in the puzzle will be different.
In Easy game you have to find up to 5 words, medium game can have up to 15 words and hard puzzle can have up to 23 words.
Every time you start a new game — our word search generator will pick random words to build the puzzle.

  • Boo
  • Candy
  • Costumes
  • Dark
  • Dracula
  • Evil
  • Ghost
  • Goblins
  • Halloween
  • Lantern
  • Mask
  • Monster
  • Mummy
  • October
  • Pumpkin
  • Scary
  • Skull
  • Spiders
  • Spooky
  • Vampire
  • Witch
  • Wizard
  • Zombie

This interactive ESL word search puzzle will help you practice Halloween words like (bat, graveyard, broom, witch etc). Solve this vocabulary word search online using the pictures as clues. Check the pictures and words in right side as hint and find them in this word search puzzle.

Games are useful for language learning because they provide a fun way to learn. Instead of many hours of worksheets, students can ‘practice and play’, with good results.

Instructions: When you find a word, hit the first and last letters to select.

Games are great for motivating students to learn. By playing our fun educational games, students can practice and review key English vocabulary, grammar and sentences without the boredom which is usually encountered when doing paper-based gap-fill exercises. Play the game below and do not hesitate to share these resources with other learners. This is the philosophy behind our site — www.eslgamesplus.com.

These free printable Halloween word searches and word scrambles are low-prep fun for kids! They’re also popular with older adults to keep mental faculties sharp. Pick from colorful versions or ink-saving black and white. All versions are available to download in the post with no email address required.

I’ve seen a lot of requests for printables that don’t use all the ink, but I also know people enjoy cute, colorful graphics.

That’s why the word search and the scramble are available in color, black and white, and a third version with just a touch of color to make the printables more Halloween-y!

free printable halloween word search and word scramble

Related: Free printable Halloween bingo

This post includes affiliate links, which means I may make a commission on purchases made at no additional cost to you.

These puzzles are fun for kids and adults, alike! Print them out for your classroom or Halloween party as an easy, non-prep activity. You could also hand them out with a Halloween pencil as a non-candy Halloween treat. 

The word search printable features 20 Halloween-related words and the scramble has 10 Halloween words.

There’s also an answer key for both Halloween word puzzles so you don’t have to guess or do a lot of extra work when your children or students ask you if they have it “right.”

Suggestions for printing and using your printables

If you’re using the black and white version of the puzzles, you can just print them off on regular copy paper and hand them to your kiddo!

If you want vibrant, crisp images for the colorful version, I recommend printing on presentation paper. It has a special coating to make sure pictures look their best.

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  • With its heavyweight, bright white, ultra-smooth finish, this paper is perfect for non-glare photographs, craft projects and signage

Although this image shows free printable mermaid bingo cards, you can see the difference between printing on presentation paper and regular cardstock. The difference is more pronounced in real life, but you can tell the card on the left, which was printed on presentation paper, is more vibrant.

difference between print on presentation paper and cardstock

To make your Halloween printables reusable, laminate them or place them in a dry erase pouch.

Although reusing a word search or word scramble may seem boring to you as an adult, young children can rework the same puzzle several times. In fact, they may want to do the same page time after time! It’s a well-known fact that children like, and benefit from, repetition. 

Laminating pages at home is easy and very cost effective. If you plan to laminate more than 10-15 things ever, buying an at-home laminator is worth it. Most copy shops charge $1-2 per page, plus there’s the hassle of driving to the store and waiting in line.

Dry erase pouches are even easier to use, but there’s always the chance that your little one will simply remove the printable and draw on it, anyway.

Halloween word puzzle printables

Alright, let’s take a look at the free printables!

As always, these printables are available for personal and classroom use (in your own classroom). Please do not share the files with friends or coworkers – just send them a link to this page so they can download their own copy.

The preview images are not printing quality – please use the download links to get the high resolution PDFs from Google Drive. The answer key is included with each download file.

Halloween word search

The words are hidden forwards, backwards, and diagonally.

A fair number of the words are backwards, so I highlighted the words on the answer key to make them easier for you to find. There’s also a non-highlighted version if you want a bit of a brain workout, too!

Look below each preview image for the download link. Links are highlighted with a grey box.

halloween word search with purple background

Halloween word search with purple pattern background

printable halloween word search pumpkin background

Halloween word search with pumpkin background

halloween-word-search-black-and-white

Black and white Halloween word search

Halloween word scramble printables

halloween-word-scramble-purple-background

Halloween word scramble with pattern background

halloween-word-scramble-pumpkin

Halloween word scramble with pumpkin

halloween-word-scramble-black-and-white

Black and white Halloween word scramble 

text "free printable Halloween word search in color and ink-saving black and white" Below is a purple gradient with a preview of the word searches. One has a purple Halloween background and the other is in black and white

Halloween Bingo

Halloween bingo is fun for the whole family! Even young children can play along since no reading is required.

Halloween Coloring Pages

Pick from a variety of Halloween coloring pages. Pages range from cute and simple for your littles to more spooky and complex for adults.

Pumpkin Outline Printables

These free pumpkin outline printables are perfect for crafts, decorations, and even simple coloring pages for toddlers. With pumpkin templates from 1″ up to 8″ wide there’s a pattern for every size project!

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