7th Grade Word Search Printable for Middle School, Grades 6 to 8

A word search for middle schoolers, grades 6 to 8: print it with its answer key or solve on screen.

Name Date

Middle School Word Search

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go in every direction, backwards too.

0 of 22 words found

YVCINOTCETULICENSE

HRAUWEHMETSYSOCEVE

YWEDEMOCRACYWTTIKE

YQEGROBCSAQNLATMFM

ETAAAYOVMNOIDAMCSO

RNIQRMTSMIGORIXHAS

VNUDQTIATRMRNOYEDO

OHNMELHAIMATOPOSEM

SOOTARZQONEYOYWSPO

NXTDEIECUGITYTRETR

GKURLYCHEAERCGNKTH

MEBIUATRINKICIAUWC

FHVUCSQIUSRENBFAMC

AIIGEELSCONSCIENCE

CEXALSEJIOUJUSTIFY

BIVEOFODKLLREILTUO

DFAWMGFJATEESKLBGA

NFEVIDENCEZEVPOTOD

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.

JustifyJUSTIFY
NarrativeNARRATIVE
EvidenceEVIDENCE
ImageryIMAGERY
AccommodateACCOMMODATE
ConscienceCONSCIENCE
LicenseLICENSE
IntegerINTEGER
HypotenuseHYPOTENUSE
OutlierOUTLIER
EcosystemECOSYSTEM
HeredityHEREDITY
ChromosomeCHROMOSOME
MoleculeMOLECULE
VelocityVELOCITY
TectonicTECTONIC
EarthquakeEARTHQUAKE
DemocracyDEMOCRACY
MesopotamiaMESOPOTAMIA
FeudalismFEUDALISM
CivilizationCIVILIZATION
PeninsulaPENINSULA

22 of 36 words from the Middle School list.

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Hard: words go in every direction, backwards too.

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Word list

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Answer key: Middle School Word Search

YVCINOTCETULICENSE

HRAUWEHMETSYSOCEVE

YWEDEMOCRACYWTTIKE

YQEGROBCSAQNLATMFM

ETAAAYOVMNOIDAMCSO

RNIQRMTSMIGORIXHAS

VNUDQTIATRMRNOYEDO

OHNMELHAIMATOPOSEM

SOOTARZQONEYOYWSPO

NXTDEIECUGITYTRETR

GKURLYCHEAERCGNKTH

MEBIUATRINKICIAUWC

FHVUCSQIUSRENBFAMC

AIIGEELSCONSCIENCE

CEXALSEJIOUJUSTIFY

BIVEOFODKLLREILTUO

DFAWMGFJATEESKLBGA

NFEVIDENCEZEVPOTOD

JUSTIFY, NARRATIVE, EVIDENCE, IMAGERY, ACCOMMODATE, CONSCIENCE, LICENSE, INTEGER, HYPOTENUSE, OUTLIER, ECOSYSTEM, HEREDITY, CHROMOSOME, MOLECULE, VELOCITY, TECTONIC, EARTHQUAKE, DEMOCRACY, MESOPOTAMIA, FEUDALISM, CIVILIZATION, PENINSULA

Next step Build a puzzle from this unit's own vocabulary Scramble a vocabulary list into a worksheet

All 300 words

Academic Vocabulary 30

Analyze Break something into its parts to see how each part works.
Annotate Write notes in the margins of a text as you read it.
Categorize Sort things into groups that share a feature.
Clarify Make a confusing point easier to understand.
Compare Look at two things to find how they are alike.
Conclude Decide what is true after weighing the facts. Also, bring to an end.
Context The words or the situation around something that help explain it.
Contrast Look at two things to find how they differ.
Criteria The standards used to judge something. Just one of them is a criterion.
Critique Judge the strengths and weaknesses of a work in a careful, fair way.
Demonstrate Show how something works, or prove a point with examples.
Determine Find out for certain, often by calculating or testing.
Distinguish Tell two similar things apart by naming what differs.
Elaborate Add details that explain an idea more fully.
Evaluate Judge how good or useful something is and give reasons. In math, find the value.
Examine Look closely at every part of something.
Hypothesis A testable idea about why something happens, stated before the experiment.

Show all 300 words (283 more)

Academic Vocabulary, continued

Imply Hint at an idea without stating it. Writers do this; readers infer.
Infer Work out what a text never states, using its clues plus what you know.
Interpret Explain what something means, such as a graph, a poem or a test result.
Investigate Study something closely to find out the facts.
Justify Give the reasons or the proof that show an answer is right.
Objective Based on facts, not on feelings. As a noun, a goal.
Relevant Connected to the question or the topic at hand.
Subjective Based on personal feelings or opinions, not on facts alone.
Summarize Retell only the main points, briefly and in your own words.
Synthesize Combine ideas from several sources into one new understanding.
Theory In science, a well-tested explanation of why something in nature happens.
Valid Built on sound reasoning or good proof.
Verify Check that something is true or correct.

Literature and Argument 30

Allusion A brief reference to a well-known story, person or event.
Anecdote A short, true story told to make a point.
Antagonist The character or force that works against the main character.
Bias A leaning toward one side that keeps a source from being fair.
Citation A note that tells readers where a quote or a fact came from.
Climax The turning point of a story, where the tension is highest.
Connotation The feeling a word carries beyond its dictionary meaning.
Counterclaim The opposing side's position, which a strong argument answers.
Credible Able to be trusted, as a source written by an expert is.
Dialect The form of a language spoken in one region or by one group.
Evidence Facts, quotes or data that show a claim is true.
Exposition The opening part of a story, which introduces the characters and the situation.
Flashback A scene that jumps back to a time before the main story.
Foreshadow Hint early in a story at something that will happen later.
Imagery Words that appeal to the five senses to paint a picture.
Irony A gap between what is expected and what happens, or between words and their meaning.
Mood The feeling a piece of writing gives the reader.
Motif An image or idea that keeps returning through a work.
Narrative Writing that tells a story, real or imagined, with characters and events.
Personification Giving human qualities to an animal, an object or an idea.
Perspective The position from which a narrator or a writer sees events.
Plagiarism Presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own.
Protagonist The main character, whose goal drives the story.
Resolution The end of a story, where the conflict is settled.
Satire Writing that uses humor to point out foolishness in people or society.
Suspense The tense feeling of not knowing what will happen next.
Symbolism Using an object to stand for an idea, as a heart stands for love.
Thesis The one sentence that states the main point of an essay.
Tone The writer's attitude toward the subject, shown through word choice.
Transition A word or phrase, such as however, that links one idea to the next.

Middle School Spelling 30

Accommodate Make room for. It has a double c and a double m.
Acquire Get or gain. There is a c before the q.
Apparent Easy to see or understand. Double p, and it ends in ent.
Bizarre Very strange. One z, double r.
Cemetery A burial ground. Every vowel before the final y is an e.
Colonel A senior army officer. It sounds like kernel.
Committee A group chosen to do a job. Double m, double t, double e.
Conscience The inner sense of right and wrong. It has science inside it.
Definitely Without any doubt. It has finite inside it.
Exaggerate Make something sound bigger or worse than it is. Double g.
Gauge A tool that measures, or to measure. A comes before u.
Leisure Free time. E comes before i in this one.
License A permit from the government. In American spelling, c comes before s.
Lightning The flash of electricity in a storm. There is no e after the t.
Maintenance The work of keeping something in good repair. The middle is ten, not tain.
Mischievous Playfully causing trouble. It has three syllables, not four.
Privilege A special right or advantage. There is no d in it.
Pronunciation The way a word is said aloud. The second syllable is nun, not noun.
Questionnaire A written list of questions for a survey. It has a double n.
Queue A line of people waiting. Four of its five letters are vowels.
Recommend Suggest as a good choice. One c, double m.
Seize Grab quickly. E comes before i, breaking the usual rule.
Sergeant A rank in the army or the police. It starts with serge, not sarge.
Silhouette A dark outline seen against a light background. It has a silent h.
Solemn Serious and formal. It ends in a silent n.
Subtle Hard to notice. The b is silent.
Thorough Complete and careful. It ends in ough.
Twelfth Coming after the eleventh. Do not drop the f.
Vacuum A space with no air in it, or a machine that cleans by suction. One c, double u.
Yield Give way, or the amount produced. I comes before e.

Ratios and Algebra 30

Absolute This kind of value is a number's distance from zero, so |-6| is 6.
Coefficient The number multiplied by a letter: the 5 in 5x.
Constant A value that stays the same, such as the 7 in x + 7.
Discount An amount taken off a price, often given as a percent.
Distributive The property that lets you write a(b + c) as ab + ac.
Domain The set of all inputs of a function.
Equation A math sentence stating that two expressions are equal, such as 3x + 2 = 14.
Formula A rule written with symbols, such as A = lw.
Function A rule that gives exactly one output for each input.
Inequality A math sentence that uses <, >, ≤ or ≥ in place of an equals sign.
Integer Any whole number or its opposite: -2, -1, 0, 1, 2 and so on.
Intercept The point where a graph crosses an axis.
Interest Money paid for the use of borrowed or saved money.
Inverse The operation that undoes another, as division undoes multiplication.
Isolate Get the unknown letter alone on one side of the equals sign.
Linear Describes a relationship whose graph is a straight line.
Markup The amount a store adds to its cost to set the selling price.
Opposite The number the same distance from zero on the other side: -4 for 4.
Percent A ratio out of 100. The symbol is %.
Proportion A statement that two ratios are equal, such as 1/2 = 4/8.
Quadrant One of the four regions of the coordinate plane.
Radical The root sign, √, or an expression written under it.
Range The set of all outputs of a function. In data, the highest value minus the lowest.
Ratio A comparison of two quantities, written 3 to 2, 3:2 or 3/2.
Reciprocal One of two numbers whose product is 1, such as 3/4 and 4/3.
Scale The ratio of a drawing's size to the real object's size.
Sequence An ordered list of numbers that follows a rule.
Slope The steepness of a line: rise divided by run.
Term One part of an expression, separated from the others by + or - signs.
Variable A letter, such as x, that stands for a number that can change.

Geometry and Statistics 30

Adjacent Next to each other, as two angles that share a side are.
Bisector A line that cuts an angle or a segment into two equal parts.
Complementary Describes two angles that add up to 90 degrees.
Congruent Having exactly the same size and shape.
Cylinder A solid with two equal circular bases joined by a curved surface.
Diameter The distance across a circle through its center.
Dilation A change that enlarges or shrinks a figure by a scale factor.
Histogram A bar graph that shows how many data values fall in each interval.
Hypotenuse The longest side of a right triangle, opposite the right angle.
Interval The span between two values, such as 10 to 19 on a bar graph of test scores.
Isosceles Describes a triangle with at least two equal sides.
Mean The sum of the data divided by how many values there are.
Median The middle value when the data are in order.
Mode The value that appears most often in a data set.
Outlier A data value far from all the others.
Prism A solid with two matching parallel bases and flat sides.
Probability How likely an event is, from 0 (impossible) to 1 (certain).
Pythagorean Names the rule a² + b² = c² for right triangles, after a Greek thinker.
Quartile One of the three values that split ordered data into four equal parts.
Radius How far it is from the middle of a circle to its edge.
Random Chosen so that every member has an equal chance.
Reflection A flip of a figure across a line, making a mirror image.
Sample A part of a population chosen to stand for the whole.
Similar Having the same shape but not always the same size.
Supplementary Describes two angles that add up to 180 degrees.
Theorem A statement that has been proved true.
Translation A slide that moves every point of a figure the same distance and direction.
Transversal A line that crosses two or more other lines.
Vertex A corner point where two sides or edges meet.
Vertical These angles sit across from each other where two lines cross, and they are equal.

Cells and Heredity 30

Adaptation An inherited feature that helps a living thing survive where it lives.
Allele One of the different forms of a gene.
Chloroplast The part of a plant cell where photosynthesis happens.
Chromosome A coiled strand of DNA. Most human cells have 46.
Cytoplasm The jellylike fluid that fills a cell.
Diffusion The movement of particles from where there are many to where there are few.
Dominant Describes an allele that shows even when only one copy is present.
Ecosystem All the living things in a place, together with the water, soil and air around them.
Enzyme A protein that speeds up a chemical reaction in a living thing.
Evolution Change in a species over many generations.
Genotype The set of alleles a living thing carries.
Heredity The passing of traits from parents to offspring.
Membrane The thin layer around a cell that controls what goes in and out.
Mitochondria The cell parts that release energy from food.
Mitosis Cell division that makes two cells identical to the first.
Mutation A change in the DNA of a gene.
Nucleus The control center of a cell, which holds its DNA.
Organelle A tiny structure inside a cell that does one job.
Osmosis The movement of water across a membrane.
Parasite A living thing that lives on or in a host and harms it.
Phenotype The traits you can observe, such as height or flower color.
Protein A large molecule built from amino acids, used for growth and repair.
Recessive Describes an allele that shows only when two copies are present.
Ribosome The tiny cell part that builds proteins.
Symbiosis A close, long-term relationship between two different species.
Tissue A group of similar cells that do the same job.
Trait A feature, such as eye color, that can be passed on.
Vacuole A storage sac in a cell, very large in most plant cells.
Vertebrate An animal with a backbone.
Virus A tiny particle that can copy itself only inside a living cell.

Atoms, Forces and Energy 30

Acceleration The rate at which velocity changes.
Amplitude The height of a wave from its rest position to a crest.
Atom The smallest particle of an element.
Circuit A closed loop that electric current flows through.
Compound A substance made of two or more elements chemically joined.
Conduction Heat transfer through direct contact.
Convection Heat transfer by the movement of a liquid or a gas.
Density How much mass is packed into a space: mass divided by volume.
Electromagnetic Describes waves, such as light and radio, that can cross empty space.
Electron A negatively charged particle that moves around the nucleus.
Element A pure substance made of only one kind of atom.
Force A push or pull that can change an object's speed or direction. It is measured in newtons.
Frequency The number of waves that pass a point each second, measured in hertz.
Friction The force that resists sliding between two surfaces.
Inertia The tendency of an object to resist a change in its motion.
Kinetic Describes the energy of motion.
Molecule Two or more atoms bonded together.
Momentum How hard a moving object is to stop: its mass times its velocity.
Neutron A particle with no charge in the nucleus of an atom.
Newton The unit of force, named for the scientist who stated the three laws of motion in 1687.
Periodic This table arranges the elements by atomic number.
Potential Describes stored energy, such as that of a stretched spring.
Proton A positively charged particle in the nucleus of an atom.
Radiation Energy that travels as waves, even through empty space.
Reactant A starting substance in a chemical reaction.
Solute The substance that gets dissolved, as salt does in water.
Solvent The substance that does the dissolving, as water does with salt.
Velocity Speed in a given direction.
Voltage The push that drives electric charge around a circuit.
Wavelength The distance from one crest of a wave to the next.

Earth and Space 30

Asteroid A rocky object that orbits the sun. Most known ones lie between Mars and Jupiter.
Comet An icy body that releases gas and dust, forming a tail, when it nears the sun.
Convergent Describes a boundary where two plates move toward each other.
Crust Earth's thin, rocky outer layer.
Deposition The dropping of sediment in a new place by water, wind or ice.
Divergent Describes a boundary where two plates move apart.
Earthquake A shaking of the ground caused by rock slipping along a fault.
Epicenter The point on the surface directly above where an earthquake starts.
Fault A break in Earth's crust along which rock moves.
Humidity Water vapor held in the air.
Igneous Describes rock formed when magma or lava cools.
Lava Melted rock that has reached Earth's surface.
Lithosphere Earth's rigid outer layer: the crust and the top of the mantle.
Magma Melted rock below Earth's surface.
Mantle The thick layer of hot rock between Earth's crust and core.
Metamorphic Describes rock changed by heat and pressure.
Meteor The glowing streak made when a small space rock speeds through the atmosphere.
Mineral A natural solid with a crystal structure, such as quartz.
Nebula A cloud of gas and dust in space. Stars form inside many of them.
Ozone A form of oxygen that, high in the atmosphere, absorbs ultraviolet rays.
Pangaea The supercontinent that started splitting up some 175 million years ago.
Pressure The weight of the air pressing down. A barometer measures it.
Satellite An object that orbits a planet. The moon is a natural one.
Sedimentary Describes rock formed from layers pressed together over time.
Seismic Describes the waves of energy that an earthquake sends out.
Subduction The sinking of one plate beneath another.
Supernova The powerful explosion of a star, often at the end of a massive star's life.
Tectonic Describes the giant plates of rock that make up Earth's outer shell.
Tide The daily rise and fall of the sea, caused mainly by the moon's gravity.
Weathering The breaking down of rock by water, ice, wind and living things.

Ancient and Medieval World 30

Aqueduct A channel the Romans built to carry water to a city.
Archaeology The study of past peoples through what they left behind.
Artifact An object made by people long ago, such as a tool or a pot.
Barter Trade goods for goods, without money.
Caravan A group of traders crossing a desert together, often with camels.
Civilization A society with cities, government, writing and specialized jobs.
Crusade One of the medieval wars fought over the Holy Land.
Cuneiform Wedge-shaped writing pressed into clay in Mesopotamia.
Democracy Rule by the people. Athens tried it about 2,500 years ago.
Dynasty A line of rulers from one family.
Empire Many lands and peoples under one ruler.
Feudalism The medieval system in which land was traded for loyalty and service.
Gladiator A fighter who battled in a Roman arena.
Hieroglyph A picture symbol in the writing of ancient Egypt.
Irrigation Bringing water to crops through ditches or channels.
Manor A lord's estate in medieval Europe, with its village and fields.
Mesopotamia The land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, home of early cities.
Monarchy Rule by a king or queen, usually passed down within one family.
Nomad A person who moves from place to place with no fixed home.
Oligarchy Rule by a small group of powerful people.
Papyrus A tall water plant of the Nile, and the writing sheets Egyptians made from it.
Pharaoh A ruler of ancient Egypt.
Philosopher A thinker who asks how to live and what is true, as Socrates did.
Plague A deadly disease that spreads fast. The Black Death reached Europe in 1347.
Pyramid A huge stone tomb built for an Egyptian ruler. The largest stands at Giza.
Samurai A warrior of feudal Japan.
Scribe A person trained to read and write for a living in ancient times.
Serf A medieval farm worker bound to the lord's land.
Shogun The military ruler of feudal Japan.
Ziggurat A stepped temple tower of Mesopotamia.

Geography and Economics 30

Archipelago A chain or group of islands.
Budget A plan for how money will be earned, spent and saved.
Culture The beliefs, customs, arts and way of life of a group.
Currency The money a country uses, such as the yen or the peso.
Demand The amount of a good that buyers want at each price.
Economy The way a place makes, sells and uses goods and services.
Elevation Height above sea level.
Entrepreneur A person who starts a business and takes on the risk.
Equator The imaginary line around the middle of Earth, at 0 degrees.
Export A good sent to another country to sell.
Import A good brought in from another country to sell.
Incentive A reward or a cost that pushes people toward a choice.
Inflation A general rise in prices over time.
Isthmus A narrow strip of land joining two larger areas, as at Panama.
Longitude Distance east or west of the prime meridian, in degrees.
Meridian A line running from pole to pole. The prime one passes through Greenwich, England.
Migration Movement of people or animals from one region to another.
Monsoon A seasonal wind that brings heavy summer rain, as in South Asia.
Peninsula Land that juts out from a mainland with water on most sides, as Florida does.
Plateau A high, flat area of land.
Profit The money left after a business pays its costs.
Region An area with features that set it apart from the land around it.
Rural Of the countryside.
Savanna A warm grassland where the trees stand far enough apart for grass to cover the ground.
Scarcity The basic problem of economics: wants are greater than resources.
Supply The amount of a good that sellers offer at each price.
Tariff A tax on imported goods.
Tributary A stream or river that flows into a larger river.
Tundra A cold, treeless plain where the ground below stays frozen.
Urban Of a city.

How it works

The 7th grade word search printable here is the opening puzzle: 22 words from the Middle School list, such as Hypothesis, Narrative and Tectonic, in eight directions on an 18 by 18 grid. Settings for 6th and 8th grade follow.

Read the full guide

Ten subject lists of 30 words

Start from a list offers ten themes: Academic Vocabulary, Literature and Argument, Middle School Spelling, Ratios and Algebra, Geometry and Statistics, Cells and Heredity, Atoms, Forces and Energy, Earth and Space, Ancient and Medieval World, and Geography and Economics. A pick fills the list under the grid with 22 of its 30 words; Add another and the cross beside each word change the count.

Middle school, 7th grade word search printable: 6th and 8th grade settings

For a word search for 6th graders, printable the same way, pick Middle School Warm-Up and press Medium. For 8th grade, pick Middle School Challenge and keep Hard; the grid grows if a word needs room.

In More options, Show clues, not words turns Ratios and Algebra into a quiz: "rise divided by run" hides Slope.
Middle School Spelling clues carry a memory hook: "Every vowel before the final y is an e" for Cemetery.
Ancient and Medieval World clues name places to find on a map: the Tigris and Euphrates, Giza, Athens, Japan.

Questions and answers

What makes this middle school word search printable hard?

The words more than the grid. The opening list runs 7 to 12 letters, such as Hypotenuse, Mesopotamia and Synthesize, and Hard lets a word read backwards or up a diagonal. Press Medium for a sheet with no backwards words.

Is the 6th grade word search printable as a PDF?

Yes: pick Save as PDF in the print window. The 6th grade sheet draws on Middle School Warm-Up, 129 words of 4 to 7 letters such as Slope, Tundra and Plague. On Medium, word search puzzles for 6th graders never read backwards.

How hard is the 8th grade word search?

Middle School Challenge holds 74 words of 9 to 15 letters, such as Mitochondria, Hieroglyph and Personification, the longest on the page. At 21 by 21, a word search for 8th graders has 441 squares to scan, against 324.

Are there other word puzzles for middle schoolers on this site?

Yes, two that take words you type. The word scramble maker jumbles a vocabulary list into a worksheet with its answer key. The cryptogram maker turns a sentence into a letter-swap code. Both work as word games for middle schoolers who finish early.

All 300 words

Academic Vocabulary 30

Academic Vocabulary, continued

Literature and Argument 30

Middle School Spelling 30

Ratios and Algebra 30

Geometry and Statistics 30

Cells and Heredity 30

Atoms, Forces and Energy 30

Earth and Space 30

Ancient and Medieval World 30

Geography and Economics 30

How it works

Ten subject lists of 30 words

Middle school, 7th grade word search printable: 6th and 8th grade settings

Questions and answers

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