Sea Animals Vocabulary

Press Print worksheet to match twelve sea animals, from dolphin and octopus to starfish, to their meanings.

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All 36 words

Twelve sea animals 12

crab A shellfish with a round, flat body and a pair of claws. "A little crab scuttled into its hole."
dolphin A smart sea mammal with a snout like a beak. "Three dolphins swam ahead of the ferry."
jellyfish A soft, almost see-through sea animal that can sting. "A jellyfish drifted past the pier."
lobster A long-bodied shellfish with two large claws. "The lobster waved its claws."
octopus A boneless ocean animal whose eight arms have suckers. "The diver watched an octopus cross the sand."
sea turtle A reptile with a thick shell that swims in the ocean. "The sea turtle crawled up the beach to lay her eggs."
seahorse A small upright-swimming fish with a horselike head. "The seahorse held on to the seaweed with its tail."
seal A fish-eating sea mammal that also rests on land or ice. "A seal slid off the ice into the water."
shark A hunting fish with rows of teeth and a pointed back fin. "The shark turned and vanished into deep water."
squid A long-bodied sea animal with ten limbs around its mouth. "A squid swam past the diver's light."
starfish A flat sea creature whose arms give it a star shape. A starfish is not a fish. It is also called a sea star.
whale A giant ocean mammal with a breathing hole on its head. "The whale blew a spout of mist."

Show all 36 words (24 more)

Big sea animals 12

elephant seal The largest kind of seal; males have a long nose. "An elephant seal lay on the beach."
giant squid A very large squid that lives deep in the ocean. "The story was about a giant squid far below the waves."
great white shark One of the largest sharks, white on its underside. "A great white shark passed under the boat."
hammerhead shark A shark with a wide, flat head shaped like a hammer. "A hammerhead shark swam over the sand."
humpback whale A whale with a humped back and long fins at the front. "The humpback whale leaped out of the water."
killer whale A sea mammal, black and white, the largest dolphin. A killer whale is also called an orca.
marlin A long fish whose upper jaw is like a spear. "A marlin raced past the boat."
moray eel A large, often colorful eel of warm seas. "A moray eel looked out of a hole in the reef."
sea lion A large seal with ear flaps that can walk on land. "The sea lions barked on the rocks."
sperm whale The biggest toothed whale, with a huge, long head. "A sperm whale dived out of sight."
stingray A flat fish whose long tail carries a stinging barb. "The stingray lay half buried in the sand."
walrus An Arctic animal like a huge seal with two tusks. "The walrus pulled itself onto the ice."

Shells, shore and small fish 12

anchovy A small, oily sea fish, often preserved in salt. "A school of anchovies turned all at once."
angelfish A brightly colored fish of warm, shallow reefs. "An angelfish swam through the coral."
conch A tropical sea animal like a snail, in a spiral shell. "She found a conch shell on the beach."
hermit crab A crab that lives inside another animal's old shell. "The hermit crab moved into a bigger shell."
horseshoe crab A sea animal with a long tail and a hard, rounded shell. In spite of its name, a horseshoe crab is not a crab.
mackerel A sea fish, striped on its back, that is often eaten. "The boat came back with a catch of mackerel."
sand dollar A flat, round sea urchin that lives in sand. "We found a sand dollar at low tide."
sea anemone A soft, bright sea animal shaped like a flower. "A sea anemone waved its tentacles."
sea cucumber A long, soft sea animal with leathery skin. "A sea cucumber lay on the sea floor."
sea slug A soft sea animal like a snail without a shell. "A bright orange sea slug crept over the coral."
seagull A bird with long wings that lives along the coast. "A seagull landed on the pier." It is also called a gull.
shrimp A small, long-tailed sea animal with ten legs. "A shrimp darted between the rocks."

How this list was compiled: Word list chosen for this site on 2026-10-09. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day in two dictionaries: the entry for the term in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, and the entry in the Cambridge Dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/). Six animals have no entry in the second dictionary (great white shark, hammerhead shark, moray eel, sea cucumber, sea slug, angelfish) and were read in the articles Great white shark, Hammerhead shark, Moray eel, Sea cucumber, Sea slug and Pomacanthidae of English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. Sea turtle was read under turtle in the second dictionary and seahorse under sea horse in the first. The articles Starfish, Orca, Sea lion, Elephant seal, Mackerel, Horseshoe crab and Giant squid gave the other names and details in the list. The sentence after each meaning is our own. Licence: own work

How it works

This sea animals vocabulary sheet opens on twelve animals to match to their meanings: dolphin, octopus, jellyfish, seahorse, starfish, crab, whale, shark, lobster, seal, sea turtle and squid. Two more sets add big animals, then shells, shore and small fish.

Read the full guide

Big sea animals

In Set, Big sea animals prints sea lion, walrus, elephant seal, killer whale, sperm whale, humpback whale, great white shark, hammerhead shark, stingray, moray eel, marlin and giant squid.

Shells, shore and small fish

The third set has shrimp, hermit crab, horseshoe crab, conch, sea slug, sea anemone, sea cucumber, sand dollar, seagull, angelfish, mackerel and anchovy. Under the tool every animal has a sentence to read aloud, such as "A seal slid off the ice into the water."

Each meaning gives one thing to look for: eight arms, a horselike head, ear flaps, a hump.

Questions and answers

Is a starfish a fish?

No. A starfish is an echinoderm, the group that also holds sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers. It is also called a sea star.

Is a dolphin a fish or a mammal?

A mammal. Dolphins, whales, seals, sea lions and walruses are all sea mammals. Sharks, seahorses, stingrays and eels are fish.

What is the difference between a seal and a sea lion?

A sea lion has ear flaps on the outside of its head and can walk on all fours on land. A true seal has no ear flaps.

How many arms does an octopus have?

Eight, each with suckers. A squid has ten limbs: eight arms and two longer tentacles.

All 36 words

Twelve sea animals 12

Big sea animals 12

Shells, shore and small fish 12

How it works

Big sea animals

Shells, shore and small fish

Questions and answers

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