Poetry Word Search Free Printable

A poetry vocabulary puzzle with its answer key, from Stanza, Rhyme and Meter to Haiku, Sonnet and Couplet.

Name Date

Poetry Word Search

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

0 of 16 words found

GBOHIONDGYMETER

OMOVPOETRYWRPDG

NHSMAGPSITCTLKB

OWTGASLOVWKKLKA

DOASJKHNEBCCBHL

EONBARGNREPERIL

EHZIEEWESKWFLHA

NHASLFRTEISNWAD

VRWHVRHZDBYEGIV

WHAKTAYLLZLSIKO

AYYSSIMILELCRUP

TTDOINEMETAPHOR

SHNYFTPUOTBDHOH

MMSWGLCOUPLETIA

DOOHWIULIMERICK

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.

StanzaSTANZA
RhymeRHYME
MeterMETER
HaikuHAIKU
SonnetSONNET
CoupletCOUPLET
VerseVERSE
PoetryPOETRY
RefrainREFRAIN
LimerickLIMERICK
BalladBALLAD
OdeODE
RhythmRHYTHM
SyllableSYLLABLE
SimileSIMILE
MetaphorMETAPHOR

16 of 20 words from the Poetry Key Terms list.

Choose one kind of poem you found. Write two lines of it and name the rhyme or rhythm you used.

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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: Poetry Word Search

GBOHIONDGYMETER

OMOVPOETRYWRPDG

NHSMAGPSITCTLKB

OWTGASLOVWKKLKA

DOASJKHNEBCCBHL

EONBARGNREPERIL

EHZIEEWESKWFLHA

NHASLFRTEISNWAD

VRWHVRHZDBYEGIV

WHAKTAYLLZLSIKO

AYYSSIMILELCRUP

TTDOINEMETAPHOR

SHNYFTPUOTBDHOH

MMSWGLCOUPLETIA

DOOHWIULIMERICK

STANZA, RHYME, METER, HAIKU, SONNET, COUPLET, VERSE, POETRY, REFRAIN, LIMERICK, BALLAD, ODE, RHYTHM, SYLLABLE, SIMILE, METAPHOR

Next step Type in the terms from your own poetry unit

All 151 words

Kinds of Poems 23

Acrostic A poem in which the first letters of the lines spell a word.
Ballad A poem that tells a story in short stanzas, often made to be sung.
Canzone A lyric poem of medieval Italy, usually ending in a short closing stanza.
Cinquain A poem of five lines; one kind has 2, 4, 6, 8 and 2 syllables.
Clerihew A funny poem of two rhymed couplets about a person, whose name makes one of the rhymes.
Diamante A poem of seven lines whose text makes the shape of a diamond.
Elegy A poem of mourning for someone who has died.
Epic A long poem that tells of the deeds of a hero.
Georgic A poem about farming and country work.
Ghazal A poem of five or more couplets linked by a rhyme and a repeated closing word or phrase.
Haiku A Japanese poem of three unrhymed lines with 5, 7 and 5 sound units.
Limerick A funny poem of five lines that rhyme aabba.
Lyric A short poem that tells the writer's own feelings.
Ode A lyric poem of some length, serious in mood and lofty in style.

Show all 151 words (137 more)

Kinds of Poems, continued

Pantoum A poem of four-line stanzas in which lines of one stanza return in the next.
Renga A Japanese poem of linked stanzas written in turns by several poets.
Rondeau A French form with two rhymes whose opening words return as a refrain.
Rondel A French form of 13 or 14 lines whose first two lines come back in the middle and at the end.
Senryu A Japanese poem shaped like a haiku, about human nature, often funny.
Sonnet A poem of 14 lines with a set pattern of rhymes.
Tanka A short Japanese poem of five lines with 5, 7, 5, 7 and 7 sound units.
Triolet A poem of eight lines in which the first line comes back twice.
Villanelle A poem of 19 lines with two rhymes and two lines that keep coming back.

Songs, Chants and Old Forms 24

Anthem A song of praise or loyalty, such as the song of a nation.
Aubade A poem or song about the dawn.
Ballade A French form of three stanzas and an envoy, all ending in the same line.
Carol A song of joy, especially one sung at Christmas.
Chant Words sung or intoned on the same note or on a few notes.
Dirge A slow, sad song for a funeral.
Doggerel Clumsy, often comic verse of little worth.
Eclogue A poem in which shepherds talk together.
Hymn A song of praise.
Idyll A short poem about peaceful country life.
Jingle A catchy verse with simple rhymes and repeated sounds.
Lament A song or poem that expresses grief.
Lullaby A soft song sung to send a child to sleep.
Madrigal A short poem that can be set to music; also a song for several voices.
Monody A poem in which one person mourns the death of another.
Nonsense Words with no clear meaning; some playful verse is made of them.
Nursery rhyme A short rhymed poem or song for young children.
Palinode A poem in which the writer takes back something said in an earlier poem.
Psalm A sacred song or poem.
Riddle A puzzling question, often in rhyme, with a hidden answer.
Roundelay A poem or song with a line that keeps coming back.
Serenade Music played or sung outdoors in the evening to honor someone.
Song Words set to music; also a short poem.
Threnody A poem or song of mourning.

Lines, Stanzas and Rhyme Schemes 20

Burden An old word for the chorus of a song.
Couplet Two lines in a row that rhyme and are usually the same length.
Distich A unit of two lines of verse.
End rhyme A rhyme that falls in the last syllables of lines of verse.
Envoy A short closing stanza, as at the end of a ballade.
Eye rhyme Two words spelled alike but sounded differently, such as lint and pint.
Hemistich Half a line of verse, set off by a pause.
Internal rhyme A rhyme that falls inside a single line of verse.
Line One row of words in a poem.
Quatrain A stanza of four lines.
Refrain A line or lines repeated through a poem, often at the end of each stanza.
Rhyme scheme The pattern of rhymes in a poem, shown by letters such as abab.
Slant rhyme A rhyme that is close but not exact.
Stanza A group of lines set apart in a poem, as a paragraph is in a story.
Strophe A stanza; in an ancient Greek ode, the first part sung by the chorus.
Tercet A group of three lines of verse, often rhymed.
Title The name of a poem, printed over its first line.
Triplet Three lines of verse taken together.
Verse One line of a poem; also poetry as opposed to prose.
Volta The turn of thought or feeling in a poem, best known in sonnets.

Rhythm and Feet 25

Alexandrine A line of twelve syllables; in English verse, six iambs.
Amphibrach A foot of a strong syllable between two weak ones.
Anapest A foot of two weak syllables followed by one strong one.
Blank verse Unrhymed lines, usually of five iambs each.
Dactyl A foot of one strong syllable followed by two weak ones.
Dimeter A line of two feet.
Elision Leaving out a sound or syllable, as in o'er for over.
Foot A unit of rhythm made of two or three syllables.
Free verse Poetry with no regular meter or rhyme.
Heptameter A line of seven feet.
Hexameter A line of six feet.
Iamb A foot of one weak syllable followed by one strong one.
Lilt A light, happy tune; also a pleasant rise and fall of the voice.
Measure Another word for the meter of a poem.
Pause A short stop in the reading of a line.
Pentameter A line of five feet.
Prosody The study of meter and of the forms of verse.
Pyrrhic A foot of two weak syllables.
Rhythm The rise and fall of strong and weak beats in a line.
Spondee A foot of two strong syllables.
Stress The extra force given to one syllable.
Syllable A word or part of a word said as one beat, like the two in po-em.
Tetrameter A line of four feet.
Trimeter A line of three feet.
Trochee A foot of one strong syllable followed by one weak one.

Rhyme and Sound 18

Alliteration Repeating the same first sound in words close together, as in wild winds.
Assonance Repeating a vowel sound in nearby words, as in deep green sea.
Chime To sound together in a pleasing way, as rhyming words do.
Consonant A speech sound made by blocking the breath, such as b, t or s.
Echo A sound that comes back; in a poem, a sound repeated from earlier.
Harmony A pleasing joining of sounds.
Homophone A word that sounds like another but differs in meaning, such as sea and see.
Melody A pleasing flow of sounds.
Meter The pattern of strong and weak beats in a line of verse.
Onomatopoeia The making of words that sound like what they name, such as buzz or hiss.
Pitch How high or low a sound is.
Repetition Saying a word, sound or line again for effect.
Resonance The fullness of a sound that rings on; also the power of words to stir feeling.
Rhyme The matching of end sounds in words, as in moon and June.
Singsong Verse with a dull, too regular beat; also a voice that rises and falls flatly.
Sound What the ear hears; poets choose words partly for it.
Tongue twister A phrase that is hard to say fast because its sounds are alike.
Vowel A speech sound made with the mouth open, written a, e, i, o or u.

The Language of Poetry 19

Apostrophe Speaking in a poem to someone absent, or to a thing as if it could hear.
Compare To show how two things are alike.
Conceit A clever, far-fetched comparison carried through a poem.
Describe To tell in words what something is like.
Emotion A strong feeling, such as joy, fear or sorrow.
Emphasis Special weight given to a word or idea.
Express To put thoughts or feelings into words.
Imagery Words that speak to the senses and make pictures in the mind.
Imagination The power of the mind to form pictures of things not present.
Inspiration A sudden bright idea that moves someone to create.
Meaning What words are understood to say.
Memory Something remembered from the past.
Metaphor A comparison that says one thing is another: the moon is a lantern.
Nature The world of plants, animals, weather and land.
Poetry Writing in verse that uses rhythm, sound and word pictures to stir feeling.
Sensory Having to do with sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.
Simile A comparison that uses like or as: quiet as a mouse.
Vivid Bright and sharp in the mind; making clear pictures.
Wonder A feeling of surprise and awe.

Poets and Performance 22

Anthology A book of poems or other writings chosen from many authors.
Audience The people who listen to a reading.
Balladeer A singer of ballads.
Bard A poet; long ago, one who made and recited verses about heroes.
Chapbook A small book or pamphlet of poems, ballads or stories.
Compose To make up a poem or a piece of music.
Laureate A person given a high honor for work in an art; some countries name a poet as theirs.
Lyricist A writer of the words of songs.
Memorize To learn by heart.
Minstrel A traveling singer and reciter of verse in the Middle Ages.
Muse In Greek myth, one of nine goddesses of the arts and sciences; also a source of ideas.
Poem A piece of writing in verse.
Poet A person who writes poems.
Recital A public reading or performance.
Recite To say a poem aloud from memory.
Revise To change and improve a draft.
Rhapsode In ancient Greece, a performer who recited epic poems.
Skald A poet of old Scandinavia.
Slam A contest in which poets perform their own work aloud.
Sonneteer A writer of sonnets.
Troubadour A poet and musician of medieval southern France who wrote songs of love.
Versify To write verses; to turn into verse.

How this list was compiled: Own work: the word list and every clue were written for this page. Spellings and meanings were checked on 2026-10-16 against The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, https://www.ahdictionary.com/. Terms the dictionary does not give were checked on 2026-10-16 against English Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/, in the articles Tanka, Renga, Diamante poem, Rhyme, Haiku, Sonnet and Stanza and the article on the volta. Licence: own work

How it works

This poetry word search, a free printable, opens on 16 key terms, Verse, Refrain, Limerick, Ballad and Ode among them. Seven more lists run from kinds of poems to poets, and every word has a one-line meaning.

Read the full guide

Poems, songs and poets

Under Start from a list, Kinds of Poems has Limerick, Acrostic, Cinquain, Villanelle and Tanka. Songs, Chants and Old Forms has Lullaby, Dirge, Idyll, Madrigal and Nursery rhyme. Poets and Performance has Bard, Minstrel, Laureate, Anthology and Recite.

Lines, feet and sound

Lines, Stanzas and Rhyme Schemes has Quatrain, Tercet, Envoy and Slant rhyme. Rhythm and Feet has Iamb, Trochee, Dactyl and Pentameter. Rhyme and Sound has Alliteration, Assonance and Onomatopoeia; The Language of Poetry has Simile, Metaphor, Imagery and Conceit.

Meter is in Rhyme and Sound, away from Pentameter and the other lines named for their feet: METER reads inside each of them.
Under More options, tick Show clues, not words and Quatrain prints as "A stanza of four lines."
Nursery rhyme, Free verse and the other two-word terms are hidden with no gap: FREEVERSE.

Questions and answers

How many syllables are in a haiku?

A traditional Japanese haiku has 17 sound units, called on, in three phrases of 5, 7 and 5. Haiku in English are by custom 17 syllables, though writers have noted a trend toward shorter poems.

How many lines are in a sonnet?

Fourteen, in a set rhyme scheme. In an Italian sonnet the first eight lines, the octave, set out a problem and the last six, the sestet, answer it; the turn between them is called the volta.

What is the difference between a stanza and a verse?

A stanza is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off by a blank line. A verse is strictly one line of a poem, though the word is also used for a stanza and for poetry as a whole.

What is the difference between rhyme and meter?

Rhyme is the matching of sounds at the ends of words, as in moon and June. Meter is the measured pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line, such as iambic pentameter.

All 151 words

Kinds of Poems 23

Kinds of Poems, continued

Songs, Chants and Old Forms 24

Lines, Stanzas and Rhyme Schemes 20

Rhythm and Feet 25

Rhyme and Sound 18

The Language of Poetry 19

Poets and Performance 22

How it works

Poems, songs and poets

Lines, feet and sound

Questions and answers

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