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
water rain cloud sun hail evaporate condense collect snow ice river lake ocean puddle droplet steam mist dew cycle melt
Words that follow water around its cycle: evaporate, condense, cloud, rain and snow, then puddle, river, lake and ocean. There are 20 words and 100 letters to find. The longest word is "evaporate", at 9 letters. No word on the list uses B, F, G, J, Q, X and Z.
The words by length
| Length | How many | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 3 letters | 3 | sun ice dew |
| 4 letters | 6 | rain hail snow lake mist melt |
| 5 letters | 6 | water cloud river ocean steam cycle |
| 6 letters | 1 | puddle |
| 7 letters | 2 | collect droplet |
| 8 letters | 1 | condense |
| 9 letters | 1 | evaporate |
A shorter puzzle of ten
Choose "10 short words" beside the heading for a smaller grid with these ten: water, rain, sun, hail, snow, ice, lake, mist, dew and melt. 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. Evaporate, condense and collect take up the most room, so they are the easiest to spot.
- 4 words start with C. When you find a C, check it for cloud, condense, collect and cycle.
- 3 words start with S. When you find an S, check it for sun, snow and steam.
- Look for doubled letters. Two of the same letter side by side stand out in a grid: collect and puddle.
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 belongs with a wet afternoon by the window or a science week about weather. Draw the cycle as a circle on the back and write each found word at the point where it happens.
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
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Questions
What words are in the water cycle word search?
Water, rain, cloud, sun, hail, evaporate, condense, collect, snow, ice, river, lake, ocean, puddle, droplet, steam, mist, dew, cycle and melt.
Is there an easier water cycle word search?
Yes. Choose "10 short words" for a smaller puzzle with water, rain, sun, hail, snow, ice, lake, mist, dew and melt. 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 water cycle word search free?
Yes. There are no ads and nothing to sign up for.