About this puzzle
These are the big, reusable words of history class, the ones that show up whether students are studying ancient Egypt, medieval Europe, or the American Revolution. Some describe time, like Era, Century, and Timeline. Some describe how people were ruled, like Empire, Dynasty, Monarch, and Democracy. Others, like Artifact, Archaeology, Historian, and Museum, are about how we learn what happened.
Each word has a short definition with a real example, so the page works as a vocabulary review at the start of a social studies unit or before a test. It is also a good warm-up before a museum field trip, and history buffs at home can try the hard level for a challenge.
The 33 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Ancestor
- An ancestor is a family member who lived long before you, such as a great-great-grandparent. Many people research family history to learn where their ancestors came from.
- Ancient
- Very old, from long ago. Ancient history usually means the time of early civilizations such as Egypt, Greece, and Rome, up to about AD 500.
- Castle
- A large, strong building made to protect a lord or king and the people who lived nearby. Many had thick walls, towers, a moat, and a drawbridge.
- Century
- A period of 100 years. The years 1900 to 1999 are often called the 20th century, which can seem confusing at first.
- Decade
- A decade is a period of 10 years. People often describe history by decades, such as the 1960s, the decade when astronauts first walked on the Moon.
- Empire
- A large group of lands and peoples ruled by one government or ruler. At its largest, around AD 117, the Roman Empire stretched from Britain to the Middle East.
- Explorer
- An explorer travels to unfamiliar places to learn about them. The expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan, which set out in 1519, was the first to sail all the way around the world.
- Knight
- A trained warrior in medieval Europe who fought on horseback and wore armor. Knights were expected to follow a code of honor called chivalry.
- Museum
- A place that collects, protects, and displays important objects. The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, runs a large group of museums that are free to visit.
- Pharaoh
- The title for a king of ancient Egypt. The tomb of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun was discovered almost untouched by Howard Carter in 1922.
- Pyramid
- A huge stone structure with a square base and triangular sides. The Great Pyramid of Giza was built as a tomb for the pharaoh Khufu around 4,500 years ago.
- Timeline
- A line that shows events in the order they happened. Dates on a timeline are often marked BC and AD, or BCE and CE.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Artifact
- An object made or used by people in the past, such as a tool, coin, pot, or piece of jewelry. Artifacts help us learn how people lived.
- Colony
- An area settled and controlled by people from another country. The 13 British colonies along the Atlantic coast became the first 13 states of the United States.
- Democracy
- A system in which the people choose their government, usually by voting. The word comes from Greek words meaning people and rule, and ancient Athens tried it about 2,500 years ago.
- Invention
- An invention is a new tool, machine, or idea that someone creates. Johannes Gutenberg's printing press, built around 1440, helped spread books and ideas across Europe.
- Medieval
- Having to do with the Middle Ages in Europe, roughly AD 500 to 1500. It was the time of castles, knights, and great stone cathedrals.
- Monarch
- A king, queen, or emperor who usually inherits the right to rule from a parent. A country led by a monarch is called a monarchy.
- Revolution
- A big change, often a sudden one, in how people are governed or how they live. The American Revolution created a new nation, and the Industrial Revolution brought factories and machines.
- Treaty
- A formal written agreement between countries. The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary War.
Added in Hard (13)
- Archaeology
- The study of the human past by digging up and examining the things people left behind. Archaeologists work carefully, recording exactly where each find was located.
- Archive
- An archive is a collection of old documents, letters, photos, and records kept safe for study. The US National Archives holds the original Declaration of Independence.
- Civilization
- A complex society with cities, a government, and usually a system of writing. Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, was home to some of the earliest civilizations.
- Dynasty
- A series of rulers from the same family. China was ruled by dynasties for more than 2,000 years, and the Ming dynasty built much of the Great Wall that visitors see today.
- Emperor
- An emperor is the ruler of an empire. Augustus became the first Roman emperor in 27 BC, and China was ruled by emperors for more than 2,000 years.
- Era
- A long period of time marked by certain events, people, or ways of life. Historians talk about the colonial era, for example, or the era of the pharaohs.
- Feudalism
- Feudalism was the system in medieval Europe where kings granted land to lords, who owed loyalty and soldiers in return. Peasants farmed the land in exchange for protection.
- Hieroglyph
- A hieroglyph is a picture symbol used in ancient Egyptian writing. Some symbols stood for sounds, while others stood for whole words or ideas.
- Historian
- A person who studies and writes about the past. Historians compare sources, such as letters, diaries, newspapers, and artifacts, to figure out what really happened.
- Renaissance
- The Renaissance, French for rebirth, was a burst of art and learning in Europe from about the 1300s to the 1600s. Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were Renaissance artists.
- Republic
- A republic is a country where citizens elect leaders to govern for them instead of being ruled by a king. Ancient Rome was a republic for nearly 500 years before it had emperors.
- Rosetta Stone
- The Rosetta Stone carries the same decree in hieroglyphs, a later Egyptian script, and ancient Greek. Jean-François Champollion used it to decode hieroglyphs in 1822.
- Ruins
- Ruins are the remains of old buildings or cities that have fallen apart over time. Machu Picchu in Peru, built by the Inca in the 1400s, is one of the most famous.
A few facts to share while you solve
- Cleopatra lived closer in time to the first Moon landing than to the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
- The Rosetta Stone, found in Egypt in 1799, carries the same message written in three scripts. It helped scholars finally learn to read Egyptian hieroglyphs in the 1820s.
- The Colosseum in Rome, finished around AD 80, could hold about 50,000 spectators, about as many as a large modern baseball stadium.
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 | 33 | 18 × 18 | Every word, in all eight directions including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. |
| Large print | 12 | 11 × 11 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard history word search: all 33 words on a 18 × 18 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 history word search: the 12 most familiar words on a 11 × 11 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 history topics does this word search cover?
It covers general history vocabulary rather than one time period. You will find words about measuring time, ways of governing, ancient Egypt, the Middle Ages, and how historians and archaeologists study the past. That makes it useful at the start of almost any social studies unit.
What grade level is this history word search for?
It fits about third through eighth grade. Younger students can solve it on the easy level and talk through the definitions with an adult, while middle schoolers can use the notes as a vocabulary review and try the hard level with backward and diagonal words.
Is there an answer key for this history 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 33 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.
