Construction Word Search with Machines, Tools and Blueprints

Press New puzzle for 15 job site words, ready for a shop class, a careers week or a truck-loving child.

Name Date

Construction Word Search

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.

0 of 15 words found

ITGYEFHYSISNDUA

HLIYZAHSAYOESEN

PSLRIEXCAVATORC

BACKHOEEYTNEGWM

UWNAAFYJAFLFSFI

LUMBERBLUEPRINT

LADDERRWYLIRTFT

DIMPBIISAEXHTRT

OTHONGCSGVXIEAA

ZWPIPEKOHEKSNMO

ERVFVAJRRLVVAET

REZHARDHATOIIBM

TNGARCHITECTLIN

DCCLTYLPSIESNSN

THBOPRXTRSQGRIN

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

BulldozerBULLDOZER
ExcavatorEXCAVATOR
BackhoeBACKHOE
SawSAW
LevelLEVEL
WrenchWRENCH
LadderLADDER
LumberLUMBER
BrickBRICK
PipePIPE
NailNAIL
FrameFRAME
BlueprintBLUEPRINT
Hard hatHARD HAT
ArchitectARCHITECT

15 of 27 words from the Construction list.

Pick two words from the puzzle. For each one, write a job on a building site that needs it.

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Easy: words go across and down.

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Word list

Large print Lower-case letters Name and date line on paper

The puzzle changes as you go. See the puzzle

Answer key: Construction Word Search

ITGYEFHYSISNDUA

HLIYZAHSAYOESEN

PSLRIEXCAVATORC

BACKHOEEYTNEGWM

UWNAAFYJAFLFSFI

LUMBERBLUEPRINT

LADDERRWYLIRTFT

DIMPBIISAEXHTRT

OTHONGCSGVXIEAA

ZWPIPEKOHEKSNMO

ERVFVAJRRLVVAET

REZHARDHATOIIBM

TNGARCHITECTLIN

DCCLTYLPSIESNSN

THBOPRXTRSQGRIN

BULLDOZER, EXCAVATOR, BACKHOE, SAW, LEVEL, WRENCH, LADDER, LUMBER, BRICK, PIPE, NAIL, FRAME, BLUEPRINT, HARD HAT, ARCHITECT

Next step Shop class? Print the workplace safety word search More wheels: print the car word search

All 136 words

Machines on the Site 18

Auger A giant corkscrew bit that bores round holes in the ground for posts.
Backhoe A digging bucket on a jointed arm, often fitted to the rear of a tractor.
Boom The long arm of a crane or an excavator.
Bucket The toothed scoop on the end of a digging arm. It is also a pail.
Bulldozer A tracked tractor with a wide steel blade on the front for pushing soil and rubble.
Cement mixer A machine with a turning drum that keeps wet concrete moving until it is poured.
Compactor A machine that pounds or vibrates loose soil until it is firm enough to build on.
Compressor A machine that squeezes air into a tank to power air tools.
Crane A tall machine that lifts heavy loads on a hook and cable and swings them into place.
Dump truck A hauler whose bed tips up at the front so that a load of soil or gravel slides out the back.
Excavator A digging machine with a boom, a bucket and a cab on a platform that swings in a full circle.
Forklift A small vehicle with two steel prongs that raises and carries pallets of material.
Grader A long machine with a blade behind its front wheels that scrapes a road bed flat.
Loader A machine with a wide front bucket that scoops loose material and tips it into trucks.
Paver A machine that lays a smooth ribbon of hot asphalt for a road or a parking lot.
Pile driver A machine that pounds long posts deep into the ground to hold up a heavy building.
Roller A heavy machine with a wide steel drum that presses soil or asphalt flat.
Skid steer A small, nimble loader that turns by dragging its fixed wheels across the ground.

Show all 136 words (118 more)

Tools 24

Chalk line A powdered string that is pulled tight and snapped to mark a long straight guide.
Chisel A steel bar with a sharp end, struck with a mallet to carve wood or chip stone.
Clamp A tool that squeezes two pieces together and holds them while glue dries or a cut is made.
Crowbar A steel bar with a hooked, flattened end for prying boards apart and pulling nails.
Drill A power tool that spins a bit to bore holes.
Hammer A tool with a heavy head for driving nails. Many have a claw on the back for pulling them out.
Ladder Two rails joined by rungs, for climbing up to the work.
Level A straight bar with an air bubble in a tube of liquid. It shows whether a surface is truly flat.
Mallet A hammer with a large head of wood or rubber that will not dent the work.
Pickaxe A heavy tool with a pointed head on a long handle, for breaking rock and packed ground.
Pliers A gripping tool with two handles and two jaws, for holding, bending and cutting wire.
Plumb bob A pointed weight on a string that shows a true vertical.
Sander A power tool that rubs a surface smooth with a gritty sheet.
Saw A blade with a row of sharp teeth for cutting wood, metal or pipe.
Screwdriver A hand tool whose tip fits the slot or cross in the head of a fastener and turns it.
Shovel A scoop on a long handle for digging and moving soil, sand or gravel.
Spade A digging tool with a flat, sharp-edged blade for cutting neat edges in soil.
Square An L-shaped or triangular guide for marking and checking right angles.
Tape measure A coiled steel ribbon marked in inches and feet that springs back into its case.
Tool belt A band of pouches worn at the waist that keeps a hammer and nails within reach.
Trowel A flat hand blade for spreading mortar or smoothing wet concrete.
Wheelbarrow A cart with a single tire in front and two handles behind, for moving loads around the job by hand.
Workbench A sturdy table for cutting, clamping and putting pieces together.
Wrench A tool with jaws that grip and turn nuts and bolts.

Building Materials 30

Asphalt A black, sticky binder mixed with crushed stone to pave roads and parking lots.
Bolt A threaded metal pin that is held tight by a nut.
Bracket An L-shaped metal support that holds up a shelf or joins two pieces at a corner.
Brick A block of fired clay, laid in rows with mortar between.
Caulk A flexible paste squeezed into gaps around windows and tubs to seal out water and drafts.
Cinder block A large, hollow gray brick of concrete, stacked to build walls and foundations.
Concrete Sand, gravel and stone bound with cement and water. After water, it is the most used substance on Earth.
Conduit A tube that protects electrical wires as they run through a building.
Drywall A wall panel with a core of gypsum between two sheets of heavy paper.
Duct A sheet-metal channel that carries heated or cooled air from room to room.
Glass A clear material made from melted sand, cut into panes for windows.
Gravel Small loose stones, spread under slabs and driveways so that water can drain.
Grout The thin paste that fills the gaps between tiles.
Gypsum A soft white mineral, ground up to make plaster and wall panels.
Hinge A jointed metal plate that lets a door or a lid swing.
Insulation Material packed into walls and attics to keep heat in during winter and out during summer.
Lumber Wood that has been sawn into boards and beams of standard sizes.
Mortar The paste of sand, cement and water that holds bricks or stones together.
Nail A thin metal spike with a flat head, driven in with a hammer to join wood.
Pipe A hollow tube that carries water, gas or waste through a building.
Plaster A smooth paste spread on walls and ceilings that dries to a firm finish.
Plywood A board made of thin sheets of wood glued in a stack, each with its grain turned across the last.
Rebar A ridged steel rod set inside concrete to make it stronger. The name is short for reinforcing bar.
Rivet A metal pin whose end is flattened after it is pushed through, locking steel plates together.
Shingle One of the overlapping flat pieces that cover a roof and shed the rain.
Siding Boards or panels fixed to the outside of a house to keep the weather out.
Steel A strong metal made mostly of iron, rolled into beams, bars and sheets.
Stucco A cement coating spread onto outside walls for a tough, textured finish.
Tile A thin slab of fired clay or stone, set in rows on floors, walls and roofs.
Wire A thin strand of metal that carries electricity behind the walls.

Parts of a Building 31

Attic The space just under the roof, above the top ceiling.
Basement The story of a building that sits below ground.
Beam A long, strong horizontal piece that carries weight across an open span.
Ceiling The overhead surface of a room.
Chimney An upright shaft that carries smoke from a fireplace out above the roof.
Column A tall upright support that carries weight down to the foundation.
Crawl space A low gap between the ground and the first floor, just tall enough to creep through.
Deck An open wooden platform built onto the outside of a house.
Eaves The lower edge of a roof that hangs out past the walls.
Floor The surface of a room that you walk on.
Footing The wide concrete pad under a foundation wall that spreads the weight over the soil.
Foundation The base of a building, set in the ground, that carries all the weight above it.
Frame The skeleton of studs, joists and rafters that gives a building its shape.
Gable The triangle of wall under the two slopes at the end of a pitched roof.
Girder A main beam, often of steel, that holds up smaller beams.
Header The horizontal piece over a door or window opening that carries the load to the studs beside it.
Joist One of the row of boards, set on edge, that holds up a floor or a ceiling.
Plumbing The system of pipes, drains and fixtures that brings water in and takes waste out.
Porch A covered platform at the entrance to a house.
Rafter One of the sloping boards that run from the top of a wall up to the ridge and hold up the roof.
Ridge The line along the very top of a roof where two slopes meet.
Roof The top covering of a building that keeps out rain, snow and sun.
Sheathing The layer of boards or panels nailed over the frame before the outer covering goes on.
Sill The bottom piece of a window frame, or the plate on which the uprights of a wall stand.
Skylight A window set into a roof or ceiling to let the sun in.
Slab A flat, thick layer of poured concrete that forms a floor or a base.
Stairs A flight of steps from one story to the next.
Story One level of a building. A house with an upstairs has two.
Stud One of the upright boards inside a wall, to which the wall covering is fixed.
Truss A rigid frame of triangles that spans a wide space to hold up a roof or a bridge.
Wiring The network of electrical cables that runs through the walls to switches and outlets.

Plans and the Job Site 20

Blueprint A copy of a building plan with white lines on blue paper, made by a process introduced in 1842.
Budget The plan for how much a project may cost.
Code The set of rules a building must meet to be safe to use.
Contract A signed agreement on the work to be done and the price to be paid.
Demolition Tearing a structure down to clear the way for something new.
Elevation A drawing that shows one face of a building straight on.
Estimate A careful guess at what a job will cost before it begins.
Excavation The hole dug for a foundation or a basement, and the work of digging it.
Hard hat A rigid helmet that shields the head from falling objects.
Inspection An official check that work meets the building code.
Permit Official written approval from the town to build, wire or plumb.
Renovation Repairing and updating an old building instead of replacing it.
Scaffold A temporary frame of poles and planks that lets workers reach high walls.
Scale The ratio that lets a small plan stand for a big building, such as a quarter inch to a foot.
Schedule The plan that says which job happens when.
Site The piece of land where a building is going up.
Survey To measure a piece of land and mark its exact corners and heights.
Topping out The rite held when the last beam is set in place. A small tree often rides up with it.
Trench A long, narrow ditch dug for pipes, cables or footings.
Zoning Town rules that say what may be built where: homes here, shops there.

People on the Job 13

Apprentice A beginner who learns a trade by working beside a skilled worker.
Architect The person who designs a building and draws its plans.
Client The person or company paying for the building.
Engineer The person who works out how strong each beam, column and footing has to be.
Flagger The worker with a stop and slow paddle who directs traffic past road work.
Foreman The worker in charge of a crew on the job.
Inspector The official who checks that each stage of the work meets the building code.
Journeyman A worker who has finished training and is fully qualified in a trade.
Laborer A worker who digs, carries, cleans up and helps the skilled trades.
Mason A worker who builds with brick, block and stone.
Operator The person at the controls of a crane, a loader or another big machine.
Supervisor The person who oversees the whole job and keeps it on schedule.
Welder A worker who joins pieces of steel by melting them together.

How it works

Bulldozer, Blueprint and Hard hat open this construction word search, in a starter list of 27. Eight more lists run from Machines on the Site to People on the Job, and every word has a plain meaning.

Read the full guide

Six themes, from the digger to the drawing

Pick Tools for a tools word search of 24 words, from Hammer and Saw to Plumb bob and Chalk line. Machines on the Site holds 18, among them Excavator, Backhoe and Skid steer. Parts of a Building carries Joist, Rafter, Truss and Gable among its 31, and People on the Job has Mason, Welder and Flagger.

Print meanings for a shop class

A shop or building trades class can run it as a construction terms word search: with Show clues, not words ticked, the meanings print and the terms have to be found. Two clues to read aloud: after water, concrete is the most used substance on Earth, and Rebar is short for reinforcing bar.

No brand names appear: the wall panel is Drywall.

Questions and answers

What words are in a construction word search?

This one holds 136 across six themes: machines such as Bulldozer and Crane, hand and power tools, building materials, parts of a building, plans and the job site, and the people who do the work. Two more lists sort words by length.

Why is a building plan called a blueprint?

Early copies of building plans came out as white lines on a blue ground, by a process Sir John Herschel introduced in 1842. The clue for Blueprint gives the year, which makes it a good word to read aloud before the hunt.

Which list suits a careers week?

People on the Job, 13 roles from Apprentice and Journeyman to Inspector. Plans and the Job Site adds Topping out, the builders' rite held when the last beam is set at the top, often with a small tree or leafy branch fixed to it.

All 136 words

Machines on the Site 18

Tools 24

Building Materials 30

Parts of a Building 31

Plans and the Job Site 20

People on the Job 13

How it works

Six themes, from the digger to the drawing

Print meanings for a shop class

Questions and answers

More tools