How it works
A number search is a word search made of digits: the grid holds 0 to 9 and the list holds numbers such as 4718. Press New number search for fresh number word find puzzles at 3 levels, from a 10 by 10 grid with 10 numbers to a 20 by 20 grid with 24. Print one with its answer key, or find the numbers on screen.
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Three levels, from 10 numbers to 24
Easy is a 10 by 10 grid with 10 numbers of 3 or 4 digits, written across and down. Medium is 15 by 15 with 18 numbers of 4 to 6 digits, and diagonals join in. Hard is 20 by 20 with 24 numbers of 5 to 8 digits in all 8 directions, backwards included, and it lays near misses in the grid: numbers one digit away from a listed one, which the key never rings. At every level, each listed number can be read exactly once.
Sums as clues and your own numbers
Tick Show sums, not numbers in More options, and each clue becomes an exact sum or difference such as 613 − 248, so the pupil works out 365 and then hunts for it. A times-table product from 100 to 144 gets its fact, such as 12 × 12. On the last line of the list you can also type or paste numbers of your own, 3 digits or more, up to 40 in a puzzle. A number that could be read inside another, such as 132 inside 1320, is left out, and the tool says why.
Print it or play it
Print or save as PDF gives the puzzle on Letter or A4 with a name and date line, then the answer key on its own page. On screen, tap a number's first digit and then its last, or drag along it with a mouse. On a keyboard, Tab to the grid, then use the arrow keys and Enter. A timer runs, and Show answers rings everything. A puzzle with your own numbers or title is kept in this browser until you press Start again.
- For a times-table hunt, type 100, 108, 110, 120, 121, 132 and 144, one to a line, and tick Show sums, not numbers. Every clue is then a times-table fact such as 9 × 12.
- Teach one method: take the first digit, run a finger along each row to find it, then check the squares around it for the second digit.
- Before a hard puzzle, tell pupils about the near misses. Checking every digit before ringing is the habit that catches 4718 copied as 4781.
- Your own list can be the dates of a history unit, such as 1492, 1776 and 1969. Leave out phone numbers and anything private: the list prints on the sheet.
- Each press of New number search makes a different grid, so neighbors cannot copy. For one shared puzzle, print one sheet and copy it.
Questions and answers
What is a number search puzzle?
It is a grid filled with the digits 0 to 9 and a list of numbers hidden in it. You find each number in a straight line and ring it, as in a word search. Nothing has to be spelled, so it suits young children, pupils who are new to English, and adults who want a change from letters. Puzzle books also call it a number find.
Are the number search puzzles printable?
Yes. Print or save as PDF gives the puzzle on one Letter or A4 page and the answer key on a page of its own. With sums as clues, a list of 18 or 24 can run onto a second sheet.
Are these number find puzzles printable in large print?
Yes. Tick Large print under More options, and the digits in the grid and the list are set bigger. The easy level still fits one page. At hard, the list of 24 moves to a sheet of its own and the answer key comes last. The easy grid in large print suits adult solvers and pupils with low vision.
Is this the same as a number word search?
No. Here the grid is digits and the list is numerals, so the skill is reading numbers. A grid of letters that hides number words such as SEVEN and TWENTY is a spelling puzzle, and it has its own page: the number word search. People say number word find for both.
What do children practice with a number search?
They practice reading a long number one digit at a time, in order, and holding it in mind while they look. With sums as clues it becomes arithmetic with a check built in: an answer that cannot be found is probably wrong. Treat it as practice, not as a test.