Indiana State Word Search Free Printable

Find Hoosier, Wabash, Limestone and 13 more Indiana words, then press Print or save as PDF for sheet and key.

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Indiana Word Search

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0 of 16 words found

POPCORNCXSYYLRI

COMGPGRALINCOLN

NZEIIDWSELWNSHD

BRQWOSTENSAITLI

AVINCENNESBNERA

SANDHILLCRANEJN

KNPFAICQETSALRA

EQETTGAMISHROID

TCOVEREDBRIDGEU

BMNSCLZTGPCNRIN

ARYRUOFORTWAYNE

LPWOMCROSSROADS

LIMESTONEEXVPSA

ETSYEOULBRHTIFZ

RNDBHOOSIERSUZO

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.

Fort WayneFORT WAYNE
VincennesVINCENNES
WabashWABASH
Indiana DunesINDIANA DUNES
PeonyPEONY
HoosierHOOSIER
CrossroadsCROSSROADS
PopcornPOPCORN
LimestoneLIMESTONE
SteelSTEEL
TecumsehTECUMSEH
LincolnLINCOLN
Sandhill CraneSANDHILL CRANE
BasketballBASKETBALL
Covered BridgeCOVERED BRIDGE
AmishAMISH

16 of 29 words from the Indiana Favorites list.

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Answer key: Indiana Word Search

POPCORNCXSYYLRI

COMGPGRALINCOLN

NZEIIDWSELWNSHD

BRQWOSTENSAITLI

AVINCENNESBNERA

SANDHILLCRANEJN

KNPFAICQETSALRA

EQETTGAMISHROID

TCOVEREDBRIDGEU

BMNSCLZTGPCNRIN

ARYRUOFORTWAYNE

LPWOMCROSSROADS

LIMESTONEEXVPSA

ETSYEOULBRHTIFZ

RNDBHOOSIERSUZO

FORT WAYNE, VINCENNES, WABASH, INDIANA DUNES, PEONY, HOOSIER, CROSSROADS, POPCORN, LIMESTONE, STEEL, TECUMSEH, LINCOLN, SANDHILL CRANE, BASKETBALL, COVERED BRIDGE, AMISH

Next step Make a word search from your own county and town names Scramble the Indiana city names

All 188 words

Indiana Cities and Towns 26

Bedford Lawrence County town whose quarries supplied stone for famous buildings.
Bloomington College town among wooded hills, home of Indiana University.
Columbus Small city known for buildings by famous modern architects.
Corydon Harrison County town where state government met before the move to the center of the state.
Crawfordsville Town that was home to Lew Wallace, soldier and author.
Elkhart City known for making band instruments and recreational vehicles.
Evansville City on a horseshoe bend of the Ohio River in the southwest corner.
Fort Wayne City where the St. Marys and St. Joseph join to form the Maumee, named for a general called Anthony.
French Lick Resort town built around mineral springs in the southern hills.
Gary Steel city on Lake Michigan named for the chairman of the company that built it.
Indianapolis State capital and largest city, laid out near the center of the state around a circle.
Jeffersonville City across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky.
Kokomo City where Elwood Haynes test-drove an early gasoline automobile.
Madison Ohio River town with a large district of historic buildings.
Michigan City Harbor town with a lighthouse at the edge of the dunes.

Show all 188 words (173 more)

Indiana Cities and Towns, continued

Muncie City on the White River, home of Ball State University.
Nashville Brown County village known as an artists' colony.
Peru Town that calls itself the Circus Capital of the World, once winter home of traveling shows.
Richmond City on the National Road near the Ohio line.
Santa Claus Town in Spencer County whose post office receives a flood of holiday letters.
Shipshewana Town in Amish country known for a big flea market and auction.
South Bend City on the St. Joseph River beside the University of Notre Dame.
Speedway Town surrounded by Indianapolis, home of a famous oval for auto racing.
Terre Haute City on the Wabash whose French name means high ground.
Vincennes Town on the Wabash that began as a French trading post and was the capital of the Indiana Territory.
West Lafayette College town across the Wabash from its older namesake, home of Purdue University.

Indiana Rivers and Lakes 21

Blue River Clear stream of the southern hills that flows to the Ohio.
Brookville Name of a town and a long reservoir in the Whitewater valley.
Calumet Name of the rivers and the industrial region along Lake Michigan.
Eel River Name shared by a northern tributary of the Wabash and a southern tributary of the White.
Kankakee River of the northwest that once drained a vast marsh.
Lake Michigan Fresh water giant whose southern tip touches the northwest corner of the state.
Lake Monroe Reservoir in the hills southeast of Bloomington.
Lost River Stream in Orange County that sinks into the limestone and runs underground.
Maumee River that begins at Fort Wayne and flows to Lake Erie.
Mississinewa River that joins the Wabash near Peru.
Muscatatuck Name of a river and a national wildlife refuge near Seymour.
Ohio River Waterway that forms the whole southern border.
Patoka Name of a river and a winding reservoir in the southern hills.
Saint Joseph River that dips into the state at South Bend before turning back toward Lake Michigan.
Salamonie Name of a river and reservoir near Huntington.
Sugar Creek Stream that cuts sandstone canyons through Turkey Run and Shades.
Tippecanoe River that joins the Wabash near Lafayette, where a battle was fought in 1811.
Wabash Official state river, which crosses the state and then forms the border with Illinois.
Wawasee Name of a natural lake at Syracuse in Kosciusko County.
White River Stream whose west and east forks drain the center of the state; the west one passes Muncie and Indianapolis.
Whitewater Name of a swift river and an old canal in the southeast.

Indiana Parks and Landforms 21

Brown County Hilly, wooded area around Nashville whose state park draws crowds for fall color.
Chain O'Lakes State park of small glacial ponds joined by channels.
Clifty Falls State park of waterfalls and a deep canyon near Madison.
Falls of the Ohio State park at Clarksville with huge beds of ancient coral fossils.
Hemlock Cliffs Box canyon of sandstone in the Hoosier National Forest.
Hoosier Hill Highest point in the state, a gentle rise in a farm field near the Ohio line.
Indiana Dunes National park of sand hills, beaches and marshes on Lake Michigan.
Karst Landscape of caves, sinkholes and sinking streams in limestone.
Limberlost Name of the great swamp where author Gene Stratton-Porter set her stories.
Marengo Cave Underground chambers in Crawford County found by schoolchildren, now a national natural landmark.
Mount Baldy Tall wandering dune at the east end of the lakeshore.
Pinhook Bog Floating mat of moss with rare plants, part of the national park.
Pokagon State park on Lake James named for Potawatomi leaders, known for a toboggan run.
Prophetstown State park of prairie near the meeting of the Tippecanoe and the Wabash.
Ravine Narrow, steep-sided gully cut by a stream.
Sandstone Rock of cemented grains that forms the cliffs of Turkey Run.
Shades State park of ravines along Sugar Creek.
Sinkhole Bowl-shaped pit where the ground has collapsed into a cave below.
Spring Mill State park with a restored pioneer village and a water-powered gristmill.
Turkey Run State park of sandstone ravines and hemlock groves.
Wyandotte Name of a large cave system near the Ohio River.

Indiana State Symbols 20

Banks Word in the title of the state song, which remembers a river by moonlight.
Buffalo Animal leaping over a log on the state seal.
Cardinal State bird, a red songbird that stays all winter.
Crossroads Key word of the state motto, which calls Indiana the meeting place of America's roads.
Firefly State insect, a glowing beetle named for naturalist Thomas Say.
Flag Blue banner with a gold torch.
Hoosier Nickname for a person from Indiana.
Limestone State stone, quarried near Bedford and Bloomington.
Mastodon State fossil, an Ice Age relative of the elephant.
Peony State flower, a fragrant garden perennial with heavy, many-petaled heads.
Poem Arthur Franklin Mapes wrote the official state one, titled Indiana.
Popcorn Puffed kernel snack that the state adopted as its own.
Seal Emblem with a sun, hills and a man chopping a tree.
Stars Gold shapes that ring the torch on the state flag.
Sugar Cream Filling of the dessert nicknamed Hoosier Pie, the state's unofficial favorite.
Torch Gold emblem at the center of the state flag, standing for liberty and enlightenment.
Tulip Tree State symbol, a tall hardwood with cup-shaped blossoms, also called yellow poplar.
Water Named the official state beverage by a resolution of lawmakers.
Woodman Figure with an ax on the state seal, standing for settlers clearing the wilderness.
Zinnia Garden flower that held the state title before the peony.

Indiana Farms and Factories 21

Blast Furnace Tower in which iron ore is melted.
Camper Vacation home on wheels; Elkhart is called the capital of the industry that builds them.
Cantaloupe Orange-fleshed melon from the sandy soils of the southwest.
Coal Black fuel mined in the southwest.
Combine Harvester that gathers corn and beans each fall.
Corn Chief grain of the state, grown in long straight rows.
Egg Farm product laid by hens.
Furniture Office desks and chairs made in and around Jasper.
Gas Boom Rush set off when natural gas was found under the east-central counties; it drew glass factories.
Glass Product of the factories that came to Muncie for cheap gas.
Hardwood Lumber of oak, walnut and cherry from the southern hills.
Hog Pork animal raised in long barns across the farm counties.
Peppermint Fragrant herb grown on the dark muck soils of the north for its oil.
Quarry Open pit where blocks of building stone are cut.
Refinery Plant that turns crude oil into fuel, as at Whiting.
Silo Tall cylinder beside a barn for storing feed.
Soybean Legume whose fields trade places with corn from one year to the next.
Steel Metal made in the giant mills along Lake Michigan.
Tomato Red crop grown for canning and ketchup.
Watermelon Big striped fruit from the sandy soils of the southwest.
Wheat Grain sown in fall and cut in early summer.

Indiana History 26

Angel Mounds Site near Evansville of a town of earthen platforms built by Native people long ago.
Appleseed Nickname of John Chapman, the nurseryman buried in Fort Wayne.
Canal Dug waterway; the Wabash and Erie linked Lake Erie with the Ohio River.
Clark Family name of the general who captured Vincennes from the British.
Delaware English name of the Lenape, who lived along the White River before moving west.
Flatboat Boxy river craft that carried farm goods downstream.
Gus Grissom Astronaut from Mitchell who flew in the Mercury and Gemini programs.
Harrison Family name of a territorial governor and of his grandson; both became president.
Interurban Electric rail car that once ran between towns.
Levi Coffin Quaker of Fountain City whose house sheltered many freedom seekers.
Lincoln President who grew up on a farm in Spencer County.
Log Cabin Home of notched timbers like those the pioneers built.
Miami Native nation of the Wabash country; the state's unofficial soil carries the same name.
Monument Circle Round plaza at the heart of Indianapolis with a tall memorial to soldiers and sailors.
National Road Early federal highway that crossed the state through Richmond, Indianapolis and Terre Haute.
New Harmony Town on the Wabash where the Harmonists and then Robert Owen tried to build an ideal community.
Notre Dame Catholic university near South Bend with a golden dome.
Ouiatenon French fort built on the Wabash near Lafayette in 1717.
Potawatomi Native nation of the northern lake country.
Purdue Land-grant university at West Lafayette known for engineering.
Quaker Member of the Society of Friends; many settled around Richmond.
Riley Family name of James Whitcomb, known as the Hoosier Poet.
Shawnee Native nation led by Tecumseh and his brother.
Statehood Step taken in 1816, when Indiana became the nineteenth member of the Union.
Tecumseh Shawnee leader who built an alliance of nations to defend their lands.
Territory Name for the region from 1800 until it joined the Union; Vincennes was its first seat.

Indiana Wildlife and Trees 29

Badger Stocky digger of the northern prairies.
Bass Game fish of lakes and ponds; the largemouth is a favorite.
Beech Smooth gray-barked tree of the old forests.
Black Walnut Hardwood whose chocolate-brown lumber goes into fine furniture and veneer.
Blue Jay Noisy crested bird that hides acorns.
Bluebell Spring wildflower that carpets river bottoms.
Chipmunk Small burrower with stripes down its back that stuffs seeds into its face.
Cottontail Rabbit with a white puff of a tail.
Cottonwood Tall riverside tree that sheds fluffy seeds.
Crayfish Small clawed relative of lobsters found under creek rocks.
Fox Squirrel Big rust-bellied tree climber of farm woodlots.
Goldfinch Small yellow bird of thistle patches.
Hawk The red-tailed kind circles over fields and highways.
Indiana Bat Endangered cave dweller named for the state where it was found.
Katydid Green insect that calls its own name on summer nights.
Kingfisher Blue-gray bird that dives for fish from a perch.
Mayapple Woodland plant with umbrella leaves.
Mussel Freshwater shellfish; the Tippecanoe River shelters many kinds.
Pawpaw Small tree with custard-like fruit, nicknamed the Indiana banana.
Persimmon Orange fall fruit baked into a pudding; Mitchell holds a festival for it.
Redbud Understory tree whose bare twigs turn rosy purple with bloom before its heart-shaped leaves open.
Robin Orange-breasted thrush that hunts worms on lawns.
Sandhill Crane Tall gray bird that gathers in great flocks at Jasper-Pulaski each fall.
Sassafras Tree with mitten-shaped leaves and fragrant roots.
Spring Peeper Tiny frog whose chorus announces the end of winter.
Sycamore Riverside tree with patchy white bark and broad leaves.
White Oak Tree of the hills whose wood makes barrels and floors.
Woodchuck Burrowing rodent also called groundhog.
Woodpecker Bird that hammers on trunks; the pileated kind has a red crest.

Hoosier Life and Sports 24

Amish Plain-living Christian community of the northern counties.
Basketball Game with a hoop and a ball that fills gyms in every town; it is the state's passion.
Bluegrass String-band music; a long-running festival is held at Bean Blossom.
Buggy Horse-drawn carriage seen on Amish roads.
Checkered Flag Black and white banner waved at the finish.
Circus Traveling show of acrobats and clowns; several wintered at Peru.
Cornhole Backyard toss game played with corn-filled sacks.
County Fair Summer show of livestock, baking and tractor pulls.
Covered Bridge Wooden span with a roof; Parke County has dozens.
Euchre Trick-taking card game with a short deck, a favorite at kitchen tables.
Fieldhouse Big gymnasium with rows of bleachers for a whole town.
Free Throw Shot worth a single point, taken with the clock stopped.
Hoop Rim and net, often nailed to a barn.
Lake Effect Kind of heavy snow that falls downwind of the big water to the northwest.
Monon Name of a railroad that once linked the state's colleges, now a trail.
Oval Shape of a track with long straights and banked turns.
Pit Crew Workers who service a race car in seconds.
Pudding Dessert made here from native persimmons.
Quilt Patchwork blanket; Amish makers sell them at auctions.
Racetrack Course for cars; a famous oval in the town of Speedway is paved partly with brick.
Round Barn Circular farm building; Fulton County is known for them.
Tenderloin Breaded pork cutlet, wider than its bun, sold as a sandwich.
Time Zone Region sharing one clock; the state is split between Eastern and Central.
Toll Road Highway across the north of the state that drivers pay to use.

How this list was compiled: Own work. Words and names about the state of Indiana, chosen and described for children: eight themed lists (cities and towns, rivers and lakes, parks and landforms, state symbols, farms and factories, history, wildlife and trees, Hoosier life and sports), Indiana Favorites, an easy list of every word of 3 to 5 letters and a hard list of every word of 8 letters or more. The grid keeps only the letters A to Z, so Chain O'Lakes is hidden as CHAINOLAKES and Fort Wayne as FORTWAYNE. Entries have 3 to 14 letters once spaces and apostrophes are dropped, and inside one list no word sits inside another, forwards or backwards. Clues are our own wording; no clue repeats a word of four letters or more from its own entry. No brand, team, living person or trademarked race is named. American spellings. Places, names and state symbols were checked on 3 October 2026 against the English Wikipedia article Indiana, its list of Indiana state symbols and the article for each entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana, license CC BY-SA 4.0). The capital and largest city, the highest point and the years 1717, 1800, 1811 and 1816 were checked the same day in a second work, Store norske leksikon (https://snl.no/Indiana). Three clues rest on other pages read the same day: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (how the Indiana bat got its name), shipshewana.com (the flea market) and the Fulton County Historical Society (round barns). Where no second work gave a figure or a record, the clue leaves it out. Unofficial and not affiliated with the State of Indiana; an educational puzzle, so check the official source before you rely on a fact. Licence: own work

How it works

This Indiana state word search opens with Fort Wayne, Indiana Dunes, Tecumseh, Covered Bridge and 12 more favorites. Start from a list holds eight themed lists, among them state symbols, history and Hoosier Life and Sports.

Read the full guide

What the state seal and flag put in the puzzle

Indiana State Symbols takes its words from the emblems themselves: Torch and Stars from the flag, Woodman and Buffalo from the seal, Banks from the title of the state song. Cardinal, Peony, Tulip Tree and Limestone are there too, each with the title it holds.

Hoosier words no other state list has

Hoosier Life and Sports has Basketball, Fieldhouse and Free Throw, Racetrack, Pit Crew and Checkered Flag, then Euchre, Cornhole, Tenderloin and Time Zone, a reminder that the state keeps two clocks. Tick Show clues, not words, and pupils guess each from its clue.

Easy Indiana has the words of 3 to 5 letters: Gary, Peru, Peony, Torch, Corn, Steel, Karst, Amish, Quilt.
Chain O'Lakes loses its apostrophe and space in the grid and hides as CHAINOLAKES.

Questions and answers

Which Indiana cities are hidden in the puzzle?

Indiana Cities and Towns has Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, Bloomington, Gary, Terre Haute and Muncie, and small towns with a story: Santa Claus, Shipshewana, French Lick, Peru and Corydon, where state government met before the move to Indianapolis.

Does it cover Indiana history for a state unit?

Yes. Indiana History has Miami, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Tecumseh, Territory, Statehood, Lincoln, Log Cabin, Flatboat, National Road, Canal and New Harmony. The clue for Statehood gives the year, 1816, and the order, nineteenth.

What rivers and parks does the Indiana word search name?

Wabash, Ohio River, White River, Tippecanoe and Kankakee are in Indiana Rivers and Lakes. Indiana Parks and Landforms has Indiana Dunes, Brown County, Turkey Run, Clifty Falls, Spring Mill and Hoosier Hill, the highest point in the state.

Is the answer key on the same page?

No. Print or save as PDF puts the puzzle and its Name and Date line on one page and the answer key on the next, so the key can stay on the teacher's desk.

All 188 words

Indiana Cities and Towns 26

Indiana Cities and Towns, continued

Indiana Rivers and Lakes 21

Indiana Parks and Landforms 21

Indiana State Symbols 20

Indiana Farms and Factories 21

Indiana History 26

Indiana Wildlife and Trees 29

Hoosier Life and Sports 24

How it works

What the state seal and flag put in the puzzle

Hoosier words no other state list has

Questions and answers

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