About this puzzle
April 1 is the one day a year when a good-natured trick is expected, and this list collects the vocabulary of harmless fun. There is the everyday stuff of pranking, like Joke, Trick, Gag, Gotcha, and Googly Eyes, plus a few words with real stories behind them. April Fish comes from France, Gowk comes from Scotland, and Spaghetti points to one of the best-known hoaxes ever broadcast.
It works as a classroom morning activity on April 1, a lunchbox surprise, or a quiet break after a day of whoopee cushions. Read the notes aloud when you are done, since many kids are surprised that people have argued for centuries about how the holiday started. The best April Fools' pranks are the kind where everyone laughs at the end, including the person who got fooled.
The 27 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Clown
- Clowns use big shoes, bright makeup, and silly tumbles to make audiences laugh. Their pretend falls look clumsy but are carefully practiced to be safe.
- Fool
- In parts of Britain, tradition says April Fools' pranks should stop at noon. Anyone who plays a trick in the afternoon becomes the fool instead.
- Funny
- Funny can mean something that makes you laugh or something odd, as in a funny feeling. On April 1, everyone hopes for the first kind.
- Giggle
- A giggle is a light, silly laugh that can be hard to stop. Laughter is contagious: hearing someone laugh makes other people more likely to laugh too.
- Goofy
- Goofy means silly in a clumsy, lovable way. Making a goofy face is one of the quickest ways to get a friend laughing after a prank.
- Gotcha
- Gotcha is a casual way of saying got you. People shout it right after a prank works, often along with April Fools.
- Joke
- A joke is something said or done to make people laugh. On April 1, a joke is usually revealed with a shout of April Fools.
- Laugh
- Laughing is something people do all over the world. Scientists have found that people laugh far more often when they are with others than when they are alone.
- Prank
- A prank is a playful trick. A good April Fools' prank is harmless and ends with everyone laughing, including the person who was fooled.
- Silly
- Hundreds of years ago, silly meant blessed or happy. Over time its meaning slowly shifted, and today it means foolish or goofy.
- Surprise
- Surprise is what makes a prank work. Fake surprises are a favorite on April 1, like a wrapped box of nothing or cupcakes that turn out to be meatloaf.
- Trick
- A trick fools someone for a moment. Classic April 1 tricks include salt in the sugar bowl, a rubber spider in a shoe, or a fake announcement.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Chuckle
- A chuckle is a quiet, low laugh, the kind you might make when you finally figure out a clever trick that was played on you.
- Gag
- In comedy, a gag is a joke or funny bit. Gag gifts, like a box that holds a smaller box that holds a smaller box, are a favorite April 1 surprise.
- Googly Eyes
- Sticking googly eyes on things in the fridge, like apples, milk jugs, and eggs, is a popular, harmless April Fools' prank for families.
- Hoax
- A hoax is a made-up story meant to fool people. The word probably comes from hocus, as in hocus pocus, a phrase used by stage magicians.
- Jester
- A jester entertained royal courts in the Middle Ages with jokes, songs, and juggling, often wearing a colorful outfit and a floppy cap with bells.
- Kidding
- To kid someone means to tease them in a friendly way. Saying just kidding right after a joke lets everyone know it was all in fun.
- Riddle
- A riddle is a puzzle question with a clever answer. Riddles are very old; one famous riddle appears in the Greek myth of the Sphinx.
- Whoopee
- A whoopee cushion is a rubber bag that makes a rude-sounding noise when someone sits on it. It has been a classic joke-shop gag since the 1930s.
Added in Hard (7)
- April Fish
- In France, April Fools' Day is called Poisson d'Avril, meaning April fish. Kids try to stick a paper fish on someone's back without being noticed.
- Gowk
- In Scotland, April Fools' Day was traditionally called Hunt the Gowk. A gowk is a cuckoo and also a fool, and victims were sent on pretend errands carrying a joke note.
- Mischief
- Mischief is playful behavior that causes a little trouble. On April Fools' Day, a bit of friendly mischief is part of the fun.
- Punchline
- The punchline is the last line of a joke, the part that makes it funny. Good timing, with a short pause just before it, helps the punchline land.
- Shenanigans
- Shenanigans means silly or mischievous behavior, like the playful tricks of April 1. The word appeared in American English in the mid-1800s, but its origin is still a mystery.
- Snicker
- A snicker is a sly, half-hidden laugh. Pranksters sometimes give their trick away by snickering before the big moment arrives.
- Spaghetti
- On April 1, 1957, a BBC news program showed a Swiss family harvesting spaghetti from trees. Many viewers called in to ask how to grow their own.
A few facts to share while you solve
- Nobody knows for sure how April Fools' Day started. One popular theory links it to France moving New Year's Day to January 1 in the 1500s, but historians say the evidence is thin.
- In Scotland, April Fools' Day was traditionally called Hunt the Gowk Day. A gowk is a cuckoo, and the prank was sending someone on a pointless errand from house to house.
- When Google announced Gmail on April 1, 2004, many people thought its huge amount of free storage was an April Fools' joke, but the service was real.
Four versions of this puzzle
Pick a version with the buttons above the grid. Each one has its own grid and answer key, and your progress on each is saved separately in this browser.
| Version | Words | Grid | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 12 | 10 × 10 | The 12 most familiar words, reading forward across and down. |
| Medium | 20 | 13 × 13 | Twenty words across, down and diagonally. No backwards words. |
| Hard | 27 | 16 × 16 | Every word, in all eight directions including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. |
| Large print | 12 | 10 × 10 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard april fools' day word search: all 27 words on a 16 × 16 grid, hidden forward, backward, up, down and along both diagonals, with filler letters borrowed from the word list. Print it without the word list for an extra challenge. Play the hard version, or see all hard word searches.
Large print april fools' day word search: the 12 most familiar words on a 10 × 10 grid, printed with big letters and a big word list, and no backwards words. Play the large print version, or see all large print word searches.
Printing this word search
Press Print / PDF above the puzzle. You get a clean one-page sheet with the title, the grid, a word list with tick boxes, and optional name and date lines. The answer key prints on a second page. Prefer a file? Download it as a PDF or an image to print later or drop into a worksheet. Whatever version is showing on screen is the one that prints, and the large print version prints with bigger letters.
How to play online
- Find a word from the list in the grid. Scanning for its first letter is the quickest way.
- Drag across the word from its first letter to its last. On a phone, you can also tap the first letter, then the last.
- Found words get highlighted and crossed off. Stuck? Hint circles the first letter of a word you haven’t found.
Read the full guide to solving word searches, with tips that make big grids much faster.
Questions and answers
What age is this April Fools' Day word search for?
Kids around 7 and up can handle the easy level, which uses short, familiar words like Joke, Fool, and Trick. Longer words like Punchline, Googly Eyes, and Spaghetti make medium and hard a good challenge for older kids and adults, so the whole family can play.
How many words are in the April Fools' Day puzzle?
Easy and Large print use 12 short words, Medium uses 20, and Hard uses all 27. Most are the everyday language of jokes and pranks, and a few come with history, like April Fish from France, Gowk from Scotland, and Spaghetti from a famous 1957 TV hoax. Each word has a short note to read after solving.
What are some kind April Fools' pranks for kids?
The best pranks are harmless and easy to undo. Kids can put googly eyes on food in the fridge, serve brownies that are really brown E's cut from paper, or stick a paper fish on someone's back. A simple rule helps: if the person will not laugh too, skip it.
Is there an answer key for this april fools' day word search?
Yes. Choose Print / PDF above the puzzle and keep “Add an answer key page” ticked. The key prints on its own page, with every word highlighted. While playing online, Show answers outlines any words you haven’t found yet.
Can I print copies for my class or group?
Yes. Every puzzle on BetterWordSearch is free to print for personal, classroom, library and homeschool use. Print as many copies as you need. To change the words or make several different versions of the grid, use the word search maker.
What changes between Easy, Medium, Hard and Large print?
Easy hides the 12 most familiar words, reading left to right and top to bottom. Medium uses 20 words and adds diagonals. Hard hides all 27 words in every direction, including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. Large print uses the same words as Easy on a small grid and prints with big letters.
