About this puzzle
March is the month when winter loosens its grip in the Northern Hemisphere. This March word search follows that change, from muddy puddles and windy kite days to the first crocuses, returning robins, and the spring equinox. St. Patrick's Day brings Shamrock, Leprechaun, and Pot of Gold, and the old saying about March arriving like a lion and leaving like a lamb gets both of its animals.
There are classroom favorites too. Pi Day lands on March 14, and Seuss is a nod to Dr. Seuss's March 2 birthday and Read Across America. Teachers can use the puzzle as a St. Patrick's Day station, an early spring warm-up, or a sub plan, and the notes below explain each word, including Mars, the Roman god the month is named after.
The 29 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Green
- Green is the color of St. Patrick's Day, and many people wear it on March 17. Green also returns to lawns and trees as spring grass and new leaves start growing.
- Kite
- Gusty March days are great for flying kites. Wind pushes against the kite's tilted surface and creates lift, while the string holds it in place.
- Lamb
- The saying ends with March going out like a lamb, gentle and mild. Real weather doesn't always follow the rule, but it is fun to track.
- Lion
- An old saying claims March comes in like a lion, meaning wild, stormy weather at the start of the month, before calmer days arrive.
- Puddle
- Melting snow and spring rain leave puddles everywhere in March. In New England, early spring is so muddy that some people call it mud season.
- Rain Boots
- Rubber rain boots keep feet dry on muddy March days. In Britain they are called wellies, after the Duke of Wellington, who made a tall leather boot popular in the 1800s.
- Rainbow
- A rainbow appears when sunlight shines through raindrops, which bend the light and split it into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
- Robin
- American robins are a classic sign of spring. Many spend winter farther south or in the woods, then show up on lawns to hunt for earthworms.
- Shamrock
- A shamrock is a young clover with three leaves. Legend says Saint Patrick used one to teach about the Christian Holy Trinity, and it became a symbol of Ireland.
- Spring
- Spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere at the March equinox, around March 20. The days keep getting longer, and plants and animals start waking up from winter.
- Umbrella
- March brings plenty of rain showers in many places. The word umbrella traces back to the Latin umbra, meaning shade, because early umbrellas blocked the sun rather than the rain.
- Windy
- March is often a windy month, as cold winter air and warmer spring air push against each other and stir up strong breezes across the country.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Crocus
- Crocuses often push up through the last patches of snow. These small purple, white, or yellow flowers grow from round underground bulbs called corms.
- Daffodil
- The daffodil is the March birth flower. Its bright yellow trumpet-shaped blooms are among the first flowers to open in spring gardens.
- Leprechaun
- In Irish folklore, a leprechaun is a tiny shoemaker fairy. Stories say if you catch one, he might lead you to his hidden gold.
- Nest
- Many birds start building nests in March. Robins weave grass and twigs into a cup shape, then line it with mud and soft grass for their blue eggs.
- Pi Day
- Pi Day is celebrated on March 14, because the date 3/14 matches the first digits of pi, 3.14. Many schools celebrate with math games and, of course, pie.
- Pot of Gold
- Folk tales say a leprechaun's pot of gold waits at the end of the rainbow. Since a rainbow's end moves as you walk, nobody can ever reach it.
- Sprout
- In March, gardeners start seeds indoors and watch for the first sprouts. A sprout lives on food stored in its seed until its leaves can make food from sunlight.
- Thaw
- A thaw is when ice and snow melt as temperatures warm up. March thaws fill streams and puddles and help maple sap start flowing in the trees.
Added in Hard (9)
- Aquamarine
- Aquamarine is the March birthstone. Its name comes from Latin words meaning water of the sea, after its pale blue-green color.
- Daylight
- Most of the United States moves clocks one hour forward on the second Sunday in March, giving more daylight in the evening. Hawaii and most of Arizona skip the change.
- Equinox
- The spring equinox happens around March 20 in the Northern Hemisphere. Day and night are close to equal in length, and spring officially begins.
- Maple Syrup
- Late winter and early spring is sugaring season, when freezing nights and warm days make maple sap flow. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.
- March Madness
- March Madness is the nickname for the big college basketball tournaments played every spring. Dozens of teams start out, and the field shrinks round by round until one champion is left.
- Mars
- March is named after Mars, a Roman god. In the earliest Roman calendar, March was the very first month of the year.
- Pisces
- People born from about February 19 to March 20 have the zodiac sign Pisces, which is shown as two fish. The Pisces constellation is large but made of faint stars.
- Seuss
- Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, was born on March 2, 1904. Read Across America Day is held on or near his birthday to celebrate reading.
- Worm Moon
- Worm Moon is a traditional name for March's full moon. As the ground thaws, earthworms become active again and robins come looking for them.
A few facts to share while you solve
- Because the early Roman year started in March, September, October, November, and December were once the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th months. Their names still come from the Latin words for seven, eight, nine, and ten.
- Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, so Pi Day is also his birthday.
- Saint Patrick's feast day falls on March 17, the date traditionally given as the day he died. He is the patron saint of Ireland, though he was born in Britain.
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 | 11 × 11 | The 12 most familiar words, reading forward across and down. |
| Medium | 20 | 14 × 14 | Twenty words across, down and diagonally. No backwards words. |
| Hard | 29 | 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 march word search: all 29 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 march 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 is in the March word search?
The words mix St. Patrick's Day, early spring nature, and March events. Easy mode sticks to favorites like Shamrock, Rainbow, and Kite, while harder levels add Equinox, Worm Moon, Pi Day, and Seuss, plus the aquamarine birthstone. Each word has a short note explaining why it belongs in March.
Is this puzzle good for St. Patrick's Day?
It works well for the week of March 17, since several words come straight from Irish folklore. If you want a whole puzzle about the holiday, our St. Patrick's Day word search has more green, gold, and Irish words to find.
What does in like a lion, out like a lamb mean?
It is an old weather saying. March often starts with cold, blustery, stormy days, the lion, and ends with milder spring weather, the lamb. It doesn't always come true, but kids can check the weather on the first and last days of March and decide for themselves.
Is there an answer key for this march 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 29 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.
