About this puzzle
February is short, but it packs in a lot. This February word search covers Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, Presidents Day, and Lunar New Year, plus Black History Month, with words like Woodson, Douglass, and Rosa Parks. In the Northern Hemisphere it is still deep winter, so we also included the Snow Moon, along with the amethyst birthstone and the violet birth flower.
Teachers can use it all month long, since it touches history, science, and the calendar in one sheet. Leap Day opens a nice conversation about Earth's orbit, and Toothbrush is there because February is National Children's Dental Health Month. At home, it makes a cozy indoor activity or a sweet addition to a valentine for a puzzle-loving friend.
The 30 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Card
- Trading valentine cards became popular in the 1800s. In the 1840s, Esther Howland of Massachusetts began selling some of the first mass-produced valentines in America.
- Chocolate
- Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao tree. Boxes of chocolates became a popular Valentine's Day gift in the 1800s.
- Cupid
- Cupid comes from Roman mythology and is usually drawn as a winged child with a bow. His arrows were said to make people fall in love.
- Friendship
- Many classrooms celebrate February 14 as a day for friendship, with every student giving and receiving a card so nobody is left out.
- Groundhog
- On Groundhog Day, February 2, crowds gather in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to see if a groundhog named Phil predicts six more weeks of winter.
- Heart
- The heart shape on valentines looks nothing like a real heart, which is a muscle about the size of your fist that pumps blood around your body.
- Lincoln
- Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, was born on February 12, 1809, in a log cabin in Kentucky. He led the country through the Civil War.
- Rosa Parks
- Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913. In 1955 she refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, helping spark the Montgomery bus boycott.
- Shadow
- According to the legend, if the groundhog sees its shadow on February 2, winter lasts six more weeks. No shadow is supposed to mean an early spring.
- Valentine
- Valentine's Day on February 14 is named for Saint Valentine. Today people trade cards, candy, and kind notes with friends, classmates, and family.
- Washington
- George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. The federal holiday known as Presidents Day is officially called Washington's Birthday.
- Winter
- In the Northern Hemisphere, February is the last full month of winter. In the Southern Hemisphere, in places like Australia and Argentina, it is the middle of summer.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Blizzard
- A blizzard is a snowstorm with strong winds of at least 35 miles per hour and blowing snow that makes it hard to see, lasting three hours or more.
- Kindness
- Random Acts of Kindness Day is February 17. People celebrate by doing small good deeds, like writing a thank-you note or helping a neighbor.
- Leap Day
- February 29 appears in most years divisible by four. It keeps the calendar lined up with Earth's trip around the Sun, which takes about 365 and a quarter days.
- Lunar New Year
- Lunar New Year follows the moon and falls between late January and mid-February. Families celebrate with special meals, lanterns, dragon dances, and visits with relatives.
- Presidents
- Presidents Day falls on the third Monday in February. Under federal law it is still officially called Washington's Birthday, though many people use it to honor all presidents.
- Sledding
- A snowy February day is perfect for sledding. Choose a hill that is away from roads and trees, and slide down feet first.
- Toothbrush
- February is National Children's Dental Health Month in the United States. Dentists recommend brushing twice a day for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste.
- Violet
- The violet is a traditional birth flower for February, along with the primrose. Wild violets are small purple flowers that often grow in lawns and woods.
Added in Hard (10)
- Amethyst
- Amethyst is the February birthstone. It is a purple form of quartz, and its color comes from tiny amounts of iron and natural radiation in the rock.
- Douglass
- Frederick Douglass escaped slavery and became a famous writer and speaker for freedom. Woodson chose February partly because Douglass celebrated his birthday on February 14.
- Februa
- February takes its name from Februa, an ancient Roman festival of purification, or cleansing, held in the middle of the month, near the end of the early Roman year.
- Lantern
- The Lantern Festival closes the Lunar New Year celebration on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Families light glowing lanterns and often solve riddles written on them.
- Mardi Gras
- Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday in French. It is the day before Ash Wednesday, so it lands in February or early March, and New Orleans celebrates with colorful parades.
- Punxsutawney
- The Pennsylvania town where Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog makes his weather prediction every February 2, a tradition that dates back to 1887.
- Red Envelope
- At Lunar New Year, children often receive red envelopes holding money. Red stands for luck and happiness in Chinese tradition.
- Snow Moon
- Snow Moon is a traditional name for February's full moon, because February is often one of the snowiest months in much of North America.
- Tubman
- Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in 1849 and then returned again and again to guide about 70 people to freedom on the Underground Railroad.
- Woodson
- Historian Carter G. Woodson started Negro History Week in February 1926. It grew into Black History Month, which President Gerald Ford recognized in 1976.
A few facts to share while you solve
- February is the only month that can pass with no full moon at all. It happened in 1999 and again in 2018, because February is shorter than the 29.5-day lunar cycle.
- The first official Groundhog Day celebration at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, was held in 1887.
- February has 28 days in common years and 29 days in leap years, making it the shortest month on the calendar.
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 | 12 × 12 | The 12 most familiar words, reading forward across and down. |
| Medium | 20 | 15 × 15 | Twenty words across, down and diagonally. No backwards words. |
| Hard | 30 | 17 × 17 | Every word, in all eight directions including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. |
| Large print | 12 | 12 × 12 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard february word search: all 30 words on a 17 × 17 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 february word search: the 12 most familiar words on a 12 × 12 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 holidays are in the February word search?
The list covers Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, Presidents Day, Lunar New Year, Leap Day, Mardi Gras, and Black History Month. It also includes winter weather words and the February birthstone and birth flower, so the puzzle works for the whole month rather than one day.
Is this February word search good for Black History Month?
It makes a good starting point. Rosa Parks, Douglass, Tubman, and Woodson each have a short, classroom-friendly note explaining who they were. For a puzzle that focuses entirely on the topic, try our Black History Month word search, which goes deeper into leaders, artists, and inventors.
Why is Februa on the list?
Februa was an ancient Roman festival of cleansing held in mid-February, and the month is named after it. It is a less familiar word that gives older solvers a challenge and gives teachers a quick way to talk about how the months got their names.
Is there an answer key for this february 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 30 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.
