Kindness Word Search Free Printable for Kindness Week

Press New puzzle for 15 kind acts to find, print the sheet, then let each pupil pick one to try.

Name Date

Kindness Word Search

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

0 of 15 words found

WIPGENCSYSJYRGO

VEHLUETEXVCLSDS

ONEIGHBOREAZZEH

LCLSRQELRGRRYLA

UOPTBEMWITIOJHR

NUEEIAKEPRNESGE

TRONNAIBPXGRREE

EATBCAESLEGSQNL

EGALLEGWELCOMEN

REDRUZJYAULPDRT

TTIMDOEBHQSOKOC

NZIOEWGRAPSLKUE

THOUGHTFULDIISV

ZOIWEUSAWNLTNVH

TRTHANKSFGMEDAE

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.

ThanksTHANKS
PolitePOLITE
EncourageENCOURAGE
HelpHELP
CaringCARING
ShareSHARE
GenerousGENEROUS
IncludeINCLUDE
WelcomeWELCOME
ListenLISTEN
ThoughtfulTHOUGHTFUL
NeighborNEIGHBOR
VolunteerVOLUNTEER
KindKIND
RippleRIPPLE

15 of 23 words from the Kindness list.

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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: Kindness Word Search

WIPGENCSYSJYRGO

VEHLUETEXVCLSDS

ONEIGHBOREAZZEH

LCLSRQELRGRRYLA

UOPTBEMWITIOJHR

NUEEIAKEPRNESGE

TRONNAIBPXGRREE

EATBCAESLEGSQNL

EGALLEGWELCOMEN

REDRUZJYAULPDRT

TTIMDOEBHQSOKOC

NZIOEWGRAPSLKUE

THOUGHTFULDIISV

ZOIWEUSAWNLTNVH

TRTHANKSFGMEDAE

THANKS, POLITE, ENCOURAGE, HELP, CARING, SHARE, GENEROUS, INCLUDE, WELCOME, LISTEN, THOUGHTFUL, NEIGHBOR, VOLUNTEER, KIND, RIPPLE

Next step Print the respect word search next Build a puzzle from your class's own kind acts

All 137 words

Kind Words and Gestures 27

Apologize To say you are sorry and mean it.
Applaud To clap for someone else's effort.
Cheer To shout support for a runner, even the one in last place.
Compliment A kind remark about what someone did or made. It is spelled with an I, unlike the word that means to complete.
Congratulate To tell someone you are glad about their success, even if you wanted to win.
Courtesy Polite behavior. The word traces back to the Old French for a royal court.
Encourage To help someone keep trying. The word courage is hiding inside it.
Excuse The first word of the phrase you use to get past someone politely.
Gracious Kind and polite, above all when things do not go your way.
Greet To meet someone at the door with a word, a wave or a smile.
Handshake A clasp of right palms, the way two teams say good game.
Hello A greeting. Said to someone new, it can be the start of a friendship.
Hug Arms wrapped around someone. Ask first, because it is only kind when the other person wants one.
Manners The everyday rules of treating people well, such as waiting for your turn to speak.

Show all 137 words (123 more)

Kind Words and Gestures, continued

Pardon A polite word for when you bump into someone or did not hear them.
Please The word that turns an order into a request.
Polite Having good manners. The word comes from the Latin for polished.
Praise Telling someone that they did well.
Promise Words you give and then keep.
Sincere Meaning what you say. A compliment only counts when it is this.
Smile A kind act that costs nothing and needs no words.
Sorry A small word that starts to mend a mistake.
Tactful Able to tell the truth without hurting anyone's feelings.
Thankful Glad about what someone did for you, and ready to say so.
Thanks One short word that tells a helper their effort was noticed.
Wave A raised, moving hand that says hi from across the playground.
Welcome What you say at the door, and also what you say after someone thanks you.

Helping Hands 20

Assist To help with a task. In sports, it is the pass that lets a teammate score.
Caring Showing through what you do that someone matters to you.
Carry To take the weight of a bag or a stack of books for someone.
Chores Household jobs. Doing one that belongs to someone else is a quiet kindness.
Cooperate To work with others toward the same goal.
Dishes Washing these after dinner, unasked, is a kind surprise.
Door Holding one open for the person behind you takes two seconds.
Errand A short trip to fetch or deliver something for someone.
Favor A kind act done because someone asked, or before they had to ask.
Fetch To go and get something for a person who needs it.
Guide To show someone the way, such as a new pupil looking for the lunchroom.
Help To make a job easier for someone. Most kind acts are a form of it.
Homework Explaining a hard problem to a classmate is help. Handing over the answer is not.
Lend To let someone use something of yours for a while, such as an eraser.
Mend To repair something torn or broken, or to patch up a quarrel.
Rake The garden tool for gathering a neighbor's fallen leaves.
Rescue To save a person or an animal from danger.
Teach To show someone how to do something you already know.
Tidy To put things back where they belong without being asked.
Tutor Someone who helps another learner, one to one.

Giving and Sharing 18

Anonymous With no name attached. A gift like this is given with no wish for thanks.
Bake To make bread or muffins in an oven. A warm batch is an easy gift for a neighbor.
Charity A group that raises money to help others. The Latin root, caritas, means dearness and love.
Collect To gather items, such as canned food, from many people for one cause.
Donate To give money, food, clothes or toys to people who need them.
Fundraiser An event, such as a bake sale or a fun run, that collects money for a cause.
Generous Glad to give more than is needed. Its Latin root first meant of noble birth.
Gift Something given freely. A kind one can cost nothing, such as a drawing.
Give To hand something over and expect nothing back.
Handmade Made by you, not bought. A card like this shows the time you spent on it.
Mittens Warm hand coverings, a common item to give to a winter clothing drive.
Offer To hold something out and ask, would you like this?
Pantry A store of food. The community kind gives groceries directly to people who need them.
Sacrifice Giving up something you value so that someone else gains.
Share To let someone else use or enjoy part of what you have.
Spare Extra, like the second pencil you keep in your bag for a classmate who forgot one.
Umbrella Sharing one on a rainy walk keeps two people dry.
Unselfish Thinking about what others need before what you want.

Including Everyone 21

Accept To take people as they are.
Belong To feel that you have a place in the group.
Bench A long seat. On some playgrounds a buddy one is where a child goes when they want someone to talk to.
Considerate Thinking about how your actions affect the people around you.
Defend To stand up for someone who is being picked on, or to fetch an adult who can.
Everyone All the people, with nobody left out.
Fair Treating people by the same rules, with no favorites.
Friendly Easy to approach and quick to say hi.
Include To make sure nobody is left out of the game or the group.
Introduce To tell two people each other's names so that they can start talking.
Invite To ask someone to come along.
Join To become part of a game or a group. Asking someone to do it is a kind way to include them.
Listen To give someone your full attention while they talk.
Newcomer Someone who has just arrived at a school or in a town and knows nobody yet.
Notice To see that someone is sitting alone or having a hard day. Kindness starts here.
Partner The person you work with in a pair. Picking someone who is often left out is kind.
Patient Able to wait calmly while someone else finishes or learns.
Teammate Someone on your side in a game. A good one passes the ball.
Thoughtful Quick to notice what someone else might need.
Translate To put words into another language, a big help to a classmate who is still learning English.
Turns Taking these means every player gets a go.

Neighbors and Community 15

Altruism Care for others with no reward for yourself. A French thinker spread the word around 1830, from the Latin for other people.
Benefactor Someone who gives money or help to a person or a cause.
Citizen A member of a town or country. A good one looks after shared places.
Elders Older people. A visit, a card or a chat can brighten their week.
Goodwill A friendly wish for other people to do well.
Hospital Where sick and injured people are cared for. A handmade card can cheer up a patient there.
Letter A written message. One sent to a faraway relative is kindness in the mail.
Mentor An experienced guide to someone younger. The name comes from a trusted friend of Odysseus in the Odyssey.
Neighbor Someone who lives near you. The oldest form of the word meant near dweller.
Philanthropy Giving money or time for the public good. The Greek word it comes from means love of humanity.
Service Work done for the good of others, such as a class project for the town.
Shelter A safe place to stay for people, or for animals, with no home.
Sidewalk The path beside a street. Clearing snow or leaves from it helps all who walk there.
Visit To go and spend time with someone, such as a grandparent or a friend who is ill.
Volunteer Someone who works for no pay because the job matters to them.

Animals and the Planet 17

Adopt To give a permanent home to an animal from a shelter.
Conserve To use less water, paper and power so that there is enough to go around.
Feed To give a pet its food on time, every day.
Gentle Soft and careful, the way to hold a kitten or a baby chick.
Humane Kind toward animals and people alike.
Leash A lead that keeps a dog safe on a walk.
Litter Trash dropped on the ground. Picking it up is kind to all who come after you.
Nest A bird's home. Looking without touching is the kind choice.
Pets Animals that depend on people for food, exercise and care.
Planet Earth, the home we share. Looking after it is kindness to people you will never meet.
Plant To put a seed or a young tree in the ground for the future.
Protect To keep someone or something safe from harm.
Puppy A young dog, which needs patient training and soft hands.
Recycle To send paper, cans and bottles to be made into new things.
Seedling A young plant that needs water and light from a careful gardener.
Stray A lost pet with no home. Tell an adult, who can get it help safely.
Wildlife Animals that live free. Being kind to them means giving them space.

Kindness Days and Sayings 19

Challenge A dare to do something good, such as five kind acts before Friday.
Fable A short tale with a moral. In one of Aesop's, a mouse repays a lion's mercy by gnawing through a net.
February In the United States, Random Acts of Kindness Day falls on the 17th of this month.
Forward Toward the front. To pay it this way is to repay a kindness by doing a good turn for someone new.
Golden The color in the name of the famous Rule: treat others the way you would want them to treat you.
Kind Friendly, generous and considerate. In Old English the word meant natural or inborn.
Lion In the fable, the big cat who sets a mouse free and is later freed from a net by it.
Mercy Kindness shown to someone you have the power to punish.
Moral The lesson at the end of a fable.
Motto A short saying to live by, such as be kind.
Mouse In the fable, the small animal who shows that nobody is too little to help.
Movement People working together for a cause. A world body with this word in its name introduced World Kindness Day.
November The month of World Kindness Day, held on the 13th every year since 1998.
Placemat The saying about practicing random kindness was first written on one, in Sausalito, California, in 1982.
Proverb A short, old saying that gives advice, such as one good turn deserves another.
Random Not planned. Put it before acts of kindness and it means good turns done for no reason but to be kind.
Ripple A small wave that spreads outward, the way one kind act leads to another.
Stranger Someone you do not know. Holding a door is a safe way to be kind to one.
Week Seven days. A school can give each of them one small kindness challenge.

How this list was compiled: 137 kindness words chosen and defined for this site: seven themed lists (kind words and gestures, helping hands, giving and sharing, including everyone, neighbors and community, animals and the planet, kindness days and sayings), a 23-word starter list, 12 short words and every word of 8 letters or more. The list is about kind acts; feeling words are left to the emotions word search and coping skills to the mental health word search. Facts in the clues were checked on 18 September 2026 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Kindness_Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_Acts_of_Kindness_Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_act_of_kindness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_it_forward https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_and_the_Mouse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentor_(Odyssey) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altruism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_bench https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_bank https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philanthropy and word origins at https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kind and the same address pattern for polite, generous, courteous, caritas and neighbour. Licence: own work

How it works

For a kindness week or World Kindness Day on November 13, this kindness word search free printable hides kind acts. The starter list has 23, Compliment, Volunteer and Ripple among them. Seven themed lists are under Start from a list.

Read the full guide

Seven lists of things to do

Kind Words and Gestures, Helping Hands, Giving and Sharing, Including Everyone, Neighbors and Community, Animals and the Planet, and Kindness Days and Sayings hold 19 to 27 words each. Feeling words have their own puzzle, so most of these are verbs a pupil can act on: Greet, Carry, Lend, Invite, Recycle. Once the grid is solved, each pupil chooses one found word as a job for the day.

Dates and origins in the clues

In the United States, Random Acts of Kindness Day falls on February 17. The saying about practicing random kindness was first written in 1982, on a placemat in Sausalito, California. A French thinker spread the word altruism around 1830, from the Latin for other people.

Kindness week has five school days and there are seven themed lists, so every morning opens with a new sheet.

Questions and answers

Is there a kindness word search pdf?

Yes. Press Print or save as PDF and choose Save as PDF. You get two pages: the puzzle with a line for name and date, then the answer key. Both fit Letter and A4 paper.

Is this kindness word search printable free for a whole school?

Yes. There is no sign-up and no cap on copies. Print one for each pupil, or press New puzzle between prints so that neighbors at a table get different grids. Every new grid comes with its own key.

Which list has the kindness dates and sayings?

Kindness Days and Sayings, 19 words. November, February and Placemat are all in it, and their clues carry the dates a kindness week is built around. World Kindness Day has been held every year since 1998.

Can we add our own class kindness words?

Yes. Type them at the end of the word list, one at a time, such as words from a class motto. High five is hidden as HIGHFIVE and printed as typed.

All 137 words

Kind Words and Gestures 27

Kind Words and Gestures, continued

Helping Hands 20

Giving and Sharing 18

Including Everyone 21

Neighbors and Community 15

Animals and the Planet 17

Kindness Days and Sayings 19

How it works

Seven lists of things to do

Dates and origins in the clues

Questions and answers

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