About this puzzle
January is a month of fresh starts and cold mornings, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere. This January word search gathers both sides of it: the new year words, like Countdown, Resolution, and Calendar, and the winter words, like Blizzard, Icicle, Sledding, and Hot Cocoa. We added Janus, the two-faced Roman god the month is named for, plus the garnet birthstone and the carnation birth flower.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls in January too, so Dream is on the list as a nod to his famous speech, and Inauguration marks the day a new presidential term begins. The puzzle makes a calm first-week-back activity for classrooms, a snow day boredom buster at home, or a quick warm-up before a lesson on calendars and winter weather.
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)
- Calendar
- Most of the world uses the Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1582. January 1 had already been the start of the Roman civil year since 153 BC.
- Frost
- Frost forms when water vapor in the air turns straight into ice crystals on cold surfaces, like car windows and blades of grass, overnight.
- Hot Cocoa
- Hot cocoa is made from cocoa powder, sugar, and milk or water. The cacao beans it comes from grow on trees in warm, tropical places.
- Icicle
- Icicles form when snow melts on a roof in sunshine and the water drips into freezing air. Each new drip adds a thin layer of ice.
- Igloo
- An igloo is a dome-shaped shelter built from blocks of packed snow. Inuit hunters in the Arctic built them as warm temporary homes during long winter journeys.
- Mittens
- Mittens keep hands warmer than gloves because your fingers share one pocket and help heat each other instead of each finger sitting alone.
- Scarf
- A warm scarf wrapped around the neck and over the nose helps keep cold January air from stinging your face. Knitted wool scarves are a classic handmade winter gift.
- Sledding
- Sledding is one of the oldest winter games. Early sleds were used for hauling loads across snow and ice long before people rode them downhill for fun.
- Snowball
- Packing snow into a snowball works best when the snow is a little wet, near freezing. Very cold, powdery snow is too dry to stick together well.
- Snowflake
- Snow crystals almost always have six sides. A Vermont farmer named Wilson Bentley took the first known photograph of a single snowflake in 1885.
- Snowman
- Packing snow, which is a little wet, sticks together best for rolling snowman balls. Very cold, powdery snow tends to crumble apart.
- Winter
- January sits in the middle of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, in places like Australia, January is a hot summer month instead.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Blizzard
- The National Weather Service calls a storm a blizzard when strong winds and blowing snow cut visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or more.
- Cardinal
- Northern cardinals do not migrate south, so their bright red feathers are easy to spot against January snow at backyard bird feeders.
- Countdown
- Crowds count down the final ten seconds of December 31 to welcome the new year. In New York City's Times Square, a lit ball drops as the clock reaches midnight.
- Dream
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day honors the civil rights leader on the third Monday of January. His 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech called for fairness and equality for everyone.
- Earmuffs
- Earmuffs keep ears toasty on cold days. Chester Greenwood of Maine came up with an early version as a teenager and received a patent for his improved ear protectors in 1877.
- Hibernate
- Animals such as woodchucks and many bats hibernate through January. Their heartbeat and breathing slow way down to save energy until spring.
- Ice Skates
- Ice skates have a thin metal blade that glides over a slippery layer on the surface of the ice. Always have an adult check that a frozen pond is safe first.
- Resolution
- A New Year's resolution is a promise to yourself to build a good habit, like reading more or being kinder. Many people write theirs down on January 1.
Added in Hard (10)
- Braille
- World Braille Day is January 4, the birthday of Louis Braille. He invented the raised-dot reading system for blind people in France when he was still a teenager.
- Carnation
- The carnation is a traditional January birth flower, along with the snowdrop. Carnations come in many colors and have ruffled, spicy-smelling petals.
- Epiphany
- Epiphany, on January 6, is a Christian feast remembering the Wise Men visiting baby Jesus. In many countries it is called Three Kings Day and is celebrated with special cakes.
- Garnet
- Garnet is the birthstone for January. It is best known as a deep red gem, but garnets also come in green, orange, and other colors.
- Inauguration
- Since 1937, a new or reelected U.S. president has been sworn into office on January 20, which happens once every four years.
- Janus
- January is named after Janus, the Roman god of doorways and beginnings. He was shown with two faces, one looking back at the old year and one looking ahead.
- Lunar New Year
- Lunar New Year follows the moon, so its date changes each year, landing sometime between January 21 and February 20. Families celebrate with reunion meals, red envelopes, and lion dances.
- Snowdrop
- The snowdrop is a January birth flower. Its small white, bell-shaped blooms are among the first flowers of the year and can push right up through a layer of snow.
- Toboggan
- A toboggan is a long, flat sled without runners, with a curled-up front. The word comes from the Mikmaq and other Algonquian languages of eastern Canada.
- Wolf Moon
- Wolf Moon is a traditional name for January's full moon, popularized by the Old Farmer's Almanac. It is often linked to wolves howling on long winter nights.
A few facts to share while you solve
- Earth is actually closest to the Sun in early January. Winter in the Northern Hemisphere comes from the tilt of Earth's axis, not from its distance to the Sun.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first observed as a federal holiday in 1986. It is held on the third Monday of January, close to his January 15 birthday.
- January has 31 days, and it became the first month of the year after the Romans moved the start of their civil year to January 1 in 153 BC.
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 | 11 × 11 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard january 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 january 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 age is this January word search for?
The easy level works well for kids around ages 6 to 8, who will know words like Snowman, Mittens, and Frost. Medium and hard suit older kids and adults, and longer entries like Inauguration and Resolution give everyone something to hunt for.
Why is Janus in a January puzzle?
Janus is the Roman god of doorways, gates, and beginnings, and the month is named after him. He was often shown with two faces looking in opposite directions, which fits a month that looks back at the old year and ahead to the new one.
Can I use this puzzle for Martin Luther King Jr. Day?
Yes. Dream is on the list, and its note gives a short, kid-friendly connection to Dr. King's 1963 speech. It pairs nicely with a read-aloud about his life, or with our Black History Month puzzle when February arrives.
Is there an answer key for this january 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.
