About this puzzle
Every word in this puzzle comes straight from the wizarding world: all four Hogwarts houses, the people who fill its halls, the magic Harry learns along the way, and the places fans would visit first, like Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. There is a little darkness too, with Voldemort and his Horcruxes, but nothing that would trouble a reader who has finished the first few books.
This Harry Potter word search is a natural fit for a book club, a themed birthday party, or a library reading challenge. Kids who just finished the Philosopher's Stone can play on easy, while grown-up fans who reread the series every autumn may want the hard setting. It is an unofficial fan puzzle, made for readers who love the books and films.
The 34 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Dobby
- A house-elf who serves the Malfoy family until Harry tricks Lucius Malfoy into handing him a sock, which sets Dobby free.
- Dumbledore
- Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts and one of the greatest wizards of his age. His loyal pet is Fawkes, a phoenix.
- Gryffindor
- Harry's house, founded by Godric Gryffindor. It prizes bravery and daring, and its colors are scarlet and gold with a lion as its emblem.
- Hagrid
- Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. He delivers the news to eleven-year-old Harry that he is a wizard.
- Hedwig
- Harry's snowy owl, a birthday gift from Hagrid. She carries his letters throughout most of the series.
- Hermione
- Hermione Granger, Harry's brilliant best friend. Born to Muggle parents, she is often the top student in their year and the one who reads ahead.
- Hogwarts
- The School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland, founded over a thousand years ago by four witches and wizards who gave their names to its houses.
- Muggle
- The wizarding word for a person with no magical ability. Harry grows up with his Muggle relatives, the Dursleys, on Privet Drive.
- Quidditch
- The wizarding sport played on broomsticks. Each team has seven players: three Chasers, two Beaters, a Keeper, and a Seeker.
- Slytherin
- The house founded by Salazar Slytherin, which values ambition and cunning. Its colors are green and silver, and its emblem is a serpent.
- Wand
- A wizard's essential tool, and in Ollivander's words, the wand chooses the wizard. Harry's is eleven inches of holly with a phoenix feather core.
- Weasley
- Ron's red-haired family, who live at a crooked house called the Burrow. Molly and Arthur Weasley have seven children.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Diagon Alley
- A hidden wizarding shopping street in London, reached through the Leaky Cauldron. Students buy wands at Ollivanders and visit Gringotts bank there.
- Golden Snitch
- A tiny winged golden ball in Quidditch. Catching it earns the Seeker's team 150 points and ends the match.
- Hufflepuff
- Founded by Helga Hufflepuff, this house values loyalty, patience, and hard work. Its emblem is a badger, and its colors are yellow and black.
- Patronus
- A silvery guardian summoned with the spell Expecto Patronum to drive away Dementors. Harry's Patronus takes the shape of a stag.
- Ravenclaw
- Founded by Rowena Ravenclaw, this house prizes wit and learning. In the books its emblem is an eagle, and its colors are blue and bronze.
- Snape
- Severus Snape teaches Potions at Hogwarts and is head of Slytherin house. His true loyalties stay a mystery to Harry until the very end of the series.
- Sorting Hat
- The talking hat that places each new student into a house. It once belonged to Godric Gryffindor, and his sword can be pulled from it.
- Voldemort
- The dark wizard born Tom Marvolo Riddle. The letters of that name rearrange to spell I am Lord Voldemort, a reveal from the second book.
Added in Hard (14)
- Dementor
- Dementors are dark, hooded creatures that guard the wizard prison Azkaban and drain happiness from the air. A Patronus drives them away, and chocolate helps people recover.
- Expelliarmus
- Expelliarmus is the Disarming Charm, which sends an opponent's wand flying out of their hand. It becomes Harry's signature spell as the series goes on.
- Fawkes
- Fawkes is Dumbledore's loyal phoenix. Phoenix tears can heal wounds, and when a phoenix grows old, it bursts into flame and is reborn from the ashes.
- Gringotts
- Gringotts is the wizarding bank in Diagon Alley, run by goblins. Its vaults lie deep underground and are reached by speedy carts on twisting tracks.
- Hippogriff
- A hippogriff has the front of a giant eagle and the back of a horse. Students must bow before approaching one, as Harry does with Buckbeak in the third book.
- Hogsmeade
- An all-wizarding village near Hogwarts, home to Honeydukes sweet shop. Students from third year on may visit with a signed permission form.
- Horcrux
- An object holding a hidden piece of a dark wizard's soul. Destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes is the mission of the final book.
- Malfoy
- Draco Malfoy is Harry's Slytherin rival from their very first day at school. His first name comes from the Latin word for dragon.
- Marauders Map
- This magical map shows everyone moving around Hogwarts. It appears when someone says I solemnly swear that I am up to no good, and Harry's father helped make it.
- McGonagall
- Professor Minerva McGonagall teaches Transfiguration and is head of Gryffindor house. She is an Animagus who can turn into a tabby cat at will.
- Neville
- Neville Longbottom is a shy Gryffindor who grows into one of the bravest students at Hogwarts. He is especially gifted at Herbology, the study of magical plants.
- Nimbus
- Harry's first broomstick is a Nimbus Two Thousand, which arrives after Professor McGonagall puts him on the Gryffindor team as the youngest house player in a century.
- Quaffle
- The Quaffle is the red ball in Quidditch. Chasers score ten points by throwing it through one of the three tall hoops at the other team's end of the pitch.
- Sirius
- Sirius Black is Harry's godfather and can transform into a large black dog. He shares his name with Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, nicknamed the Dog Star.
A few facts to share while you solve
- The first book was published in the United Kingdom in 1997 as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and it was renamed the Sorcerer's Stone for its 1998 American release.
- The seven books became eight films, because the final book, Deathly Hallows, was split into two movies.
- Harry's wand and Voldemort's wand have the same core: each holds a feather from Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix.
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 | 34 | 19 × 19 | 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 harry potter word search: all 34 words on a 19 × 19 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 harry potter 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
Is this Harry Potter word search good for kids?
Yes. The words come from all seven books, but most are familiar from the first few, like Hedwig, Quidditch, and the Sorting Hat. Readers around age seven and up do well on easy mode, and the notes help younger fans learn names they may have only heard in the films.
Which words from the wizarding world are in the puzzle?
Easy uses 12 core words like Hogwarts, Hedwig, and Quidditch, medium uses 20, and hard uses all 34. The list covers the school and all four houses, characters such as Dumbledore, Hermione, Snape, and Dobby, magic like the Patronus and Expelliarmus, and places including Diagon Alley and Gringotts.
How can I use it at a Harry Potter party?
Hand out printed copies as guests arrive, or sort players into four house teams and race to finish first. Teams can score bonus points by explaining a word's meaning without peeking at the notes, which turns the puzzle into a trivia game.
Is there an answer key for this harry potter 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 34 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.
