Free Printable Seafood Word Search Puzzles

A seafood puzzle of fish, shellfish and menu words that prints with its answer key.

Name Date

Seafood Word Search

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

0 of 15 words found

VWYWLEFNPNCLAMO

CALAMARISIORBDA

DRZFRIEDERDYIPS

GLRAMAREANTHBXG

WPHSHELLFISHTNE

ISHRUSLIPMCLAWY

EFKLASAAAOTHRXD

EHFHTLOFILLETEL

MAWNUABFISHTACO

ALOLNLOBSTERRON

FISHANDCHIPSSCB

RBDJNTBISQICATS

UULOUNIMETEEULD

ATCXXAHJOHEWCLO

SEOAREACHOWDERJ

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.

TunaTUNA
CodCOD
HalibutHALIBUT
LobsterLOBSTER
ClamCLAM
ShellfishSHELLFISH
ClawCLAW
FilletFILLET
FriedFRIED
ChowderCHOWDER
Fish tacoFISH TACO
Fish and chipsFISH AND CHIPS
CalamariCALAMARI
BibBIB
Tartar sauceTARTAR SAUCE

15 of 28 words from the Seafood list.

Plan a seafood dinner. Write the menu, using three words from the 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: Seafood Word Search

VWYWLEFNPNCLAMO

CALAMARISIORBDA

DRZFRIEDERDYIPS

GLRAMAREANTHBXG

WPHSHELLFISHTNE

ISHRUSLIPMCLAWY

EFKLASAAAOTHRXD

EHFHTLOFILLETEL

MAWNUABFISHTACO

ALOLNLOBSTERRON

FISHANDCHIPSSCB

RBDJNTBISQICATS

UULOUNIMETEEULD

ATCXXAHJOHEWCLO

SEOAREACHOWDERJ

TUNA, COD, HALIBUT, LOBSTER, CLAM, SHELLFISH, CLAW, FILLET, FRIED, CHOWDER, FISH TACO, FISH AND CHIPS, CALAMARI, BIB, TARTAR SAUCE

Next step Print the fish word search Print the food word search

All 138 words

Fish on the Menu 20

Anchovy A tiny, salty catch found on some pizzas.
Catfish A freshwater bottom feeder with whisker-like feelers around its mouth.
Cod A white-fleshed catch of cold northern seas, a classic under batter.
Flounder A flatfish that lies hidden on the sea floor.
Grouper A heavy-bodied reef dweller with a very big mouth.
Halibut A very large flatfish with both eyes on one side of its head.
Herring A small silvery swimmer of northern seas that travels in huge schools.
Mackerel An oily ocean swimmer with dark wavy stripes on its back.
Mahi mahi A colorful warm-water catch, also called dolphinfish.
Perch A small freshwater catch with spiny fins.
Pollock A relative of the cod, common in breaded frozen portions.
Salmon A pink-fleshed swimmer that leaves the sea and heads up rivers to lay its eggs.
Sardine A small, oily swimmer, usually packed tightly in a tin.
Snapper A reef dweller; the red kind is a menu favorite.
Sole A flatfish with delicate white flesh.
Sturgeon A large, scaleless swimmer armored with rows of bony plates; its eggs become caviar.
Swordfish A big ocean hunter with a long, flat, pointed bill.
Tilapia A freshwater catch, first from Africa, now raised on farms around the world.
Trout A freshwater relative of the salmon, often speckled.
Tuna A large, fast ocean swimmer, sold in cans or as thick steaks.

Show all 138 words (118 more)

Shellfish 18

Abalone A sea snail with one ear-shaped shell, lined with mother-of-pearl.
Clam A sea animal with two matching shells that digs into sand or mud.
Conch A large sea snail with a heavy spiral shell.
Crab A sea animal with a wide shell and two pincers; it can run sideways.
Crawfish A freshwater animal like a tiny lobster, also called a crayfish.
Cuttlefish A relative of the squid with a chalky plate inside its body.
Langoustine A slim, pink-orange relative of the lobster.
Lobster A large sea animal with a hard shell and two big claws.
Mussel A sea animal in a long, dark shell that clings to rocks.
Octopus A soft-bodied sea animal with eight arms.
Oyster A sea animal in a rough shell that can grow a pearl.
Periwinkle A small sea snail picked from rocks on the shore.
Prawn A sea animal much like a large shrimp.
Scallop A sea animal in a fan-shaped shell with ridges.
Sea urchin A round sea animal covered in spines.
Shrimp A small swimmer with a curved body, a thin shell and long whiskers.
Squid A soft-bodied sea animal with eight arms, two longer tentacles and a sac of ink.
Whelk A sea snail with a pointed spiral shell.

Shells, Claws and Tails 14

Bivalve A mollusk with two hinged shells, such as an oyster.
Claw The pincer at the end of a lobster's front leg.
Crustacean An animal with a jointed outer skeleton, such as a crab or a shrimp.
Fillet A boneless slice cut from the side of a fish.
Gills The parts a fish breathes with under water.
Mollusk A soft-bodied animal, such as a clam, a snail or a squid.
Pearl A smooth, shiny bead that forms inside an oyster.
Pin bone A thin, needle-like bit of skeleton left in a fillet.
Roe Fish eggs.
Scales Small, thin plates that cover the skin of most fish.
Seafood Anything from the water that people eat.
Shellfish The kitchen name for crabs, clams, squid and their kin.
Tail The meaty back end of a lobster or a shrimp.
Tentacle A long, bendy limb that a cuttlefish shoots out to grab its prey.

How It Is Cooked 23

Baked Cooked in an oven.
Battered Dipped in a wet mix of flour and liquid before frying.
Blackened Coated in spices and cooked in a very hot pan until dark.
Boiled Cooked in bubbling water.
Breaded Coated in crumbs before cooking.
Briny Tasting of the salty sea.
Broiled Cooked under strong direct heat.
Canned Sealed and cooked in a tin to keep for months.
Chilled Served cold.
Cured Preserved with salt, sugar or smoke.
Deveined With the dark line along a shrimp's back taken out.
Farm raised Grown in ponds, tanks or pens.
Flaky Falling apart in thin layers, as cooked cod does.
Fried Cooked in hot oil.
Grilled Cooked on a rack over a fire.
Pickled Kept in vinegar or salty water.
Poached Cooked gently in liquid kept just under a boil.
Seared Browned fast on a very hot surface.
Shucked Taken out of its shell, as oysters are.
Smoked Flavored and preserved over a slow wood fire.
Steamed Cooked in the hot vapor of boiling water.
Stuffed Filled with a mixture before cooking.
Wild caught Taken from the sea, a lake or a river.

Seafood Dishes 25

Bisque A smooth, creamy soup made from lobster, crab or shrimp.
Bouillabaisse A soup of several kinds of fish, first made in the French port of Marseille.
Calamari Squid served as food, often as fried rings.
Caviar Salted sturgeon eggs.
Ceviche Raw fish soaked in lime or lemon juice, a dish of Latin America.
Chowder A thick, chunky soup, often made with clams and milk or cream.
Cioppino A stew of the day's catch in tomato broth, first made in San Francisco.
Etouffee A Louisiana dish of shellfish smothered in sauce and served over rice.
Fish and chips A British meal of battered cod or haddock with thick fries.
Fish cake A fried patty of flaked cod or salmon mixed with potato.
Fish fry A meal, often a community supper, where the catch is cooked in hot oil.
Fish stick A finger-shaped piece of breaded cod or pollock, sold frozen.
Fish taco A folded tortilla with a seafood filling.
Gravlax A Nordic dish of salmon cured with salt, sugar and dill.
Gumbo A thick Louisiana stew served with rice.
Jambalaya A Louisiana dish of rice cooked with meat, shrimp and vegetables.
Kipper A herring that is split open, salted and smoked.
Lox Salmon cured in salty brine, often eaten on a bagel.
Maki Sushi rolled up in a sheet of seaweed.
Paella A rice dish from Valencia in Spain, cooked in a wide, shallow pan.
Sashimi Thin slices of raw fish served without rice.
Scampi In the United States, shrimp cooked with garlic.
Surimi A paste of minced white fish, often shaped and colored to look like crab.
Sushi A Japanese dish of vinegared rice with fish or vegetables.
Tempura A Japanese dish of shrimp or vegetables fried in a light batter.

Dock and Fish Market 21

Aquaculture Raising fish, shellfish or seaweed in water, as a farmer raises crops.
Bait Food put in a cage or on a hook to draw a catch.
Buoy A float that marks where a lobster cage sits.
Catch of the day The choice on a menu that came in off the boats most recently.
Crushed ice What a fresh catch is packed in to keep it cold.
Deckhand A worker on a boat.
Dredge A heavy frame dragged along the bottom to gather scallops or oysters.
Fish market A place where the day's catch is sold.
Fishmonger A shopkeeper who cuts and sells the day's catch.
Fleet A group of boats that work from the same port.
Harbor A sheltered stretch of water where boats tie up.
Hatchery A place where young fish or oysters are raised from eggs.
Low tide When the sea pulls back and clam diggers head for the mud.
Mudflat A stretch of soft, wet ground uncovered when the sea goes out.
Pier A walkway on posts that reaches out over the water.
Shucker A person who opens oysters or clams.
Sustainable Caught or raised in a way that leaves plenty for the years ahead.
Tongs Long-handled grippers used to lift oysters from the bottom.
Trap A cage set on the sea floor for lobsters or crabs.
Trawler A boat that drags a large net behind it.
Wharf A platform built along the shore where boats load and unload.

At the Table 17

Bib A cloth or paper cover that keeps drips off a shirt.
Bucket Where the empty shells go.
Chopsticks A pair of slim wooden utensils held in one hand.
Coleslaw A salad of finely shredded raw cabbage.
Fork A tool with prongs for lifting food.
Hush puppy A small ball of fried cornmeal batter.
Lemon wedge A piece of sour yellow citrus to squeeze over a plate.
Mallet A small wooden hammer for cracking crab shells.
Malt vinegar The brown, sour liquid shaken over fried cod in Britain.
Market price Two words on a menu that mean the cost changes with the day's catch.
Nori A paper-thin sheet of dried seaweed.
Platter A big serving plate, often piled high to share.
Raw bar A counter that serves oysters and clams uncooked on ice.
Seaweed Plants and algae that grow in salt water.
Soy sauce A dark, salty liquid for dipping.
Tartar sauce A creamy dip of mayonnaise and chopped pickles.
Wasabi The hot green paste served with sushi.

How this list was compiled: Own work: the word list and every clue were written for this page. Word meanings were checked on 9 October 2026 against each word's entry in Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chowder and the entries for the other words). Facts in the clues were checked the same day against these English Wikipedia articles: Seafood (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seafood), Shellfish, Halibut, Tilapia, Sturgeon, Mahi-mahi, Cuttlefish, Abalone, Nephrops norvegicus, Oyster, Chowder, Bisque (food), Cioppino, Bouillabaisse, Ceviche, Gumbo, Jambalaya, Étouffée, Paella, Sushi, Sashimi, Tempura, Nori, Scampi, Squid as food, Surimi, Caviar, Lox, Kipper, Gravlax, Fish and chips, Fish finger, Fish fry, Taco, Blackening (cooking), Tartar sauce, Hushpuppy, Catfish, Swordfish, Sardine, Scallop, Lobster, Crab, Shrimp, Alaska pollock, Raw bar, Aquaculture and Fishmonger. Licence: own work

How it works

Shrimp, Lobster, Crab, Oyster, Salmon, Scallop and Clam are on the list these free printable seafood word search puzzles open on. Every word has a clue, and seven more lists run from the dock to the dinner table.

Read the full guide

Seven lists, from the dock to the table

Fish on the Menu has Halibut, Mackerel and Mahi mahi. Shellfish has Mussel, Prawn and Abalone. Shells, Claws and Tails has Fillet, Roe and Tentacle. How It Is Cooked has Poached, Blackened and Shucked. Seafood Dishes has Bisque, Paella and Ceviche, Dock and Fish Market has Trawler, Fishmonger and Low tide, and At the Table has Bib, Mallet and Tartar sauce.

Three kinds of shellfish to sort

Shrimp, lobsters and crabs are crustaceans. Oysters, clams, scallops, squid and octopus are mollusks, and the sea urchin is an echinoderm. Once the grid is solved, a science class can sort the 18 words of the Shellfish list into those three groups.

For a foods class, How It Is Cooked gives a puzzle made only of menu words, such as Seared, Cured and Deveined.

Questions and answers

Is there a free seafood word search to print?

Yes, with no sign-up. Press Print or save as PDF for two pages on Letter or A4: the puzzle with a name and date line and a menu-writing task, then the answer key.

What words are in the seafood word search?

138 words and phrases, from Cod and Crab to Bouillabaisse and Catch of the day.

Which list has the sushi words?

Seafood Dishes has Sushi, Sashimi and Maki, and At the Table has Wasabi, Nori, Soy sauce and Chopsticks. The Sashimi clue gives the difference: thin slices of raw fish served without rice.

Which seafood list suits younger children?

Short and Easy, with 12 words of 3 to 5 letters, among them Cod, Crab, Clam, Tuna, Claw and Bib.

All 138 words

Fish on the Menu 20

Shellfish 18

Shells, Claws and Tails 14

How It Is Cooked 23

Seafood Dishes 25

Dock and Fish Market 21

At the Table 17

How it works

Seven lists, from the dock to the table

Three kinds of shellfish to sort

Questions and answers

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