20 words are hidden in the letters, or ten short ones for a first try. Tap the first letter of a word, then its last letter.
The 20 words
sun mercury venus earth mars jupiter saturn uranus neptune moon meteor planet rings comet asteroid gravity star solar system orbit
The eight planets by name, from Mercury and Venus out to Uranus and Neptune, with the sun, the moon, a comet and rings. There are 20 words and 111 letters to find. The longest word is "asteroid", at 8 letters. No word on the list uses F, K, Q, W, X and Z.
The words by length
| Length | How many | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 3 letters | 1 | sun |
| 4 letters | 3 | mars moon star |
| 5 letters | 6 | venus earth rings comet solar orbit |
| 6 letters | 5 | saturn uranus meteor planet system |
| 7 letters | 4 | mercury jupiter neptune gravity |
| 8 letters | 1 | asteroid |
A shorter puzzle of ten
Choose "10 short words" beside the heading for a smaller grid with these ten: sun, venus, earth, mars, moon, rings, comet, star, solar and orbit. None has more than 5 letters. On a phone the full puzzle takes twelve of the 20, so the letters stay big enough to tap.
Hints for this puzzle
- Start with the longest words. Asteroid, mercury and jupiter take up the most room, so they are the easiest to spot.
- 5 words start with S. When you find an S, check it for sun, saturn, star, solar and system.
- 4 words start with M. When you find an M, check it for mercury, mars, moon and meteor.
- Look for doubled letters. Two of the same letter side by side stand out in a grid: moon.
Play it or print it
On the screen, tap the first letter of a word and then its last letter, and the word is crossed off the list. Easy hides words across and down, Medium adds corner to corner, and Hard adds backwards. Press Print for two pages, the puzzle and its answer key, and "New puzzle" for the same words in new places. The word search maker page explains how each grid is made and kept clean.
It fits a unit on the planets, a model made of painted foam spheres or a clear night with a telescope. Number the planets on the list in order from the sun, then draw them as a row of circles along the bottom edge.
The same words on bingo cards and flash cards
The bingo card generator deals these words onto cards, each one a different mix, and the flash cards page prints them eight to a sheet.
More word searches
Weather · Sky · Space · All word searches · Word search maker
Questions
What words are in the solar system word search?
Sun, mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune, moon, meteor, planet, rings, comet, asteroid, gravity, star, solar, system and orbit.
Is there an easier solar system word search?
Yes. Choose "10 short words" for a smaller puzzle with sun, venus, earth, mars, moon, rings, comet, star, solar and orbit. On Easy, words only run across and down.
Can I print it with an answer key?
Yes. Press Print for two pages: the puzzle and its answer key. Each press of "New puzzle" makes a different sheet.
Is the solar system word search free?
Yes. There are no ads and nothing to sign up for.