Spanish-American War Word Search

Find 15 Spanish-American War words in one grid, from Cuba and the Maine to the Treaty, with an answer key.

Name Date

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

0 of 15 words found

IROUGHRIDERSDOI

NNBOGHAVANASOPL

DLLXWIAUOESYHHD

EEOPSPAINEAETIV

PDCGKVENPONLOLA

ETKENOEHULJLAIM

NEASTLBPEGUOLPY

DFDGRUNHRFAWSPP

EXEKENBDTSNPPIT

NCUBATWYOOHRGNW

CINATETHRVIEHET

ETDRYESLIHLSWSX

MAINERKXCULSYVT

EONBQWPLOLLHNUR

IGUAMTMANILABAY

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.

CubaCUBA
MaineMAINE
HavanaHAVANA
SpainSPAIN
Yellow PressYELLOW PRESS
IndependenceINDEPENDENCE
Rough RidersROUGH RIDERS
San Juan HillSAN JUAN HILL
VolunteerVOLUNTEER
BlockadeBLOCKADE
Puerto RicoPUERTO RICO
PhilippinesPHILIPPINES
Manila BayMANILA BAY
GuamGUAM
TreatyTREATY

15 words from the Spanish-American War list.

Start from a list

Easy: words go across and down.

More options

Show clues, not words

Word list

Large print Lower-case letters Name and date line on paper

The puzzle changes as you go. See the puzzle

Answer key: Spanish-American War Word Search

IROUGHRIDERSDOI

NNBOGHAVANASOPL

DLLXWIAUOESYHHD

EEOPSPAINEAETIV

PDCGKVENPONLOLA

ETKENOEHULJLAIM

NEASTLBPEGUOLPY

DFDGRUNHRFAWSPP

EXEKENBDTSNPPIT

NCUBATWYOOHRGNW

CINATETHRVIEHET

ETDRYESLIHLSWSX

MAINERKXCULSYVT

EONBQWPLOLLHNUR

IGUAMTMANILABAY

CUBA, MAINE, HAVANA, SPAIN, YELLOW PRESS, INDEPENDENCE, ROUGH RIDERS, SAN JUAN HILL, VOLUNTEER, BLOCKADE, PUERTO RICO, PHILIPPINES, MANILA BAY, GUAM, TREATY

Next step Make a puzzle from your own 1898 unit words Scramble these Spanish-American War words

All 84 words

Road to War 21

Amendment A change added to a measure. One of April 1898 promised that the United States would not keep control of Cuba.
Battleship A large armored warship with heavy guns.
Colony A land ruled from a faraway country. Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines were Spain's.
Comic Strip A row of cartoon drawings. One called the Yellow Kid gave the sensational papers their color name.
Congress The lawmakers of the United States, who voted for war against Spain on April 25, 1898.
Cuba The Caribbean island whose fight to be free of Spanish rule drew the United States into the war.
Empire Many lands under one ruler. The war ended Spain's in the Western Hemisphere.
Explosion A sudden, violent blast. One sank an American warship at anchor on the night of February 15, 1898.
Havana Capital of the island at the heart of the war. An American battleship lay in its harbor in early 1898.
Headline The large words on top of a news story. Many about Cuba were written to shock.
Independence Freedom to govern yourselves. Cubans had been fighting Spanish rule for it since 1895.

Show all 84 words (73 more)

Road to War, continued

Journalism The work of gathering news and reporting it. In the 1890s some of it stretched the truth to sell papers.
Maine The U.S. battleship that exploded and sank in Havana's harbor on February 15, 1898.
Newspaper A printed daily report of events. Two New York rivals fought for readers with stories about Cuba.
Resolution A formal decision voted by lawmakers. One passed on April 20, 1898, recognized Cuban independence.
Revolt An uprising against rulers. Cuba's had lasted three years when the United States stepped in.
Slogan A short phrase that is easy to chant. "Remember the Maine" was the best known of 1898.
Spain The European kingdom that ruled Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines until 1898.
Sugar A sweet crop. By the 1890s American businessmen held much of Cuba's trade in it.
Ultimatum A final demand. Congress told Spain to give up Cuba, and Spain's government rejected it.
Yellow Press Newspapers that sold copies with shocking, exaggerated stories. Their style is called yellow journalism.

Caribbean Campaign 23

Blockade Warships closing off a coast so that nothing sails in or out. The U.S. Navy began one of Cuba on April 22.
Buffalo Soldier A member of one of the army's four Black regiments, all of which fought near Santiago on July 1, 1898.
Caribbean The sea that washes Cuba and Puerto Rico.
Cavalry Soldiers trained to fight on horseback. The Rough Riders' horses stayed behind, so they fought on foot.
Daiquiri The village east of Santiago where the American army began landing on June 22, 1898.
El Caney A village near Santiago where a battle was fought on the same day as San Juan Hill.
Guanica The Puerto Rican coastal town where 1,300 American soldiers came ashore on July 25, 1898.
Guantanamo The bay in southeastern Cuba where American troops landed on June 10, 1898.
Infantry The part of an army that marches and fights on foot.
Kettle Hill The rise beside San Juan Hill. Together the two make up the San Juan Heights.
Key West The Florida island where much of the North Atlantic Squadron gathered before the war.
Puerto Rico The Caribbean island where American troops landed on July 25, 1898. Spain gave it up in the peace.
Regiment A large army unit, usually led by a colonel.
Rough Riders Nickname of the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, a regiment of cowboys, miners, hunters and college men.
San Juan Hill High ground near Santiago that American troops charged and took on July 1, 1898.
Santiago The harbor city in southeastern Cuba where the Spanish squadron sheltered. It was captured on July 17, 1898.
Siboney A village on the coast east of Santiago that became the American army's base in Cuba.
Squadron A group of warships under one commander. Spain's Caribbean one was destroyed on July 3, 1898.
Surrender To give up to the other side and stop fighting.
Tampa The Florida city where the Rough Riders went by rail to board their ship for Cuba.
Transport A ship that carries soldiers and their supplies.
Volunteer Someone who signs up by choice. The president called for 125,000 of them on April 23, 1898.
Yellow Fever A tropical disease that spread quickly through the American army in Cuba once the fighting was over.

War in the Pacific 19

Annex To add a territory to your own country.
Archipelago A large group or chain of islands, such as the Philippines.
Asiatic A word in the name of the American squadron that sailed from Hong Kong to the Philippines.
Cavite Site of a Spanish naval base and shipyard in 1898. The battle of May 1 is also named after it.
Coal The fuel that steam warships burned in 1898.
Commodore A naval rank above captain. The American commander in the Philippines held it.
Cruiser A fast warship. One named Charleston stopped at Guam on its way to Manila.
Flagship The ship that carries the commander of a group of warships.
Fleet A large group of warships sailing together.
Guam The Pacific island whose Spanish governor surrendered in June 1898 without knowing that war had begun.
Hawaii The Pacific island group that the United States annexed in 1898 while the war was on.
Hong Kong The port in Asia where the American squadron waited, with orders to keep full of coal.
Luzon The largest island of the Philippines and the one where Manila stands.
Manila Bay Where the first battle of the war was fought, on May 1, 1898.
Navy A country's warships and the sailors who serve on them.
Olympia The American flagship in the battle of May 1, 1898. It is kept today at a seaport museum.
Pacific The ocean of Guam, Hawaii and the Philippines.
Philippines The Pacific island group that Spain sold to the United States for $20 million.
Steamship A ship driven by steam engines. One named Yucatan carried the Rough Riders to Cuba.

Peace and After 21

Cease-fire A stop to the shooting. One was signed on August 12, 1898.
Cede To hand over land to another country. Spain did this with Guam and Puerto Rico.
Expansion Growth in size. After 1898 the United States held islands far from its own shores.
Imperialism Building an empire by taking control of other lands. Americans argued over it after 1898.
Manila Capital of the Philippines. American troops attacked it a day after the peace protocol, not knowing of it.
Naval Base A harbor kept for warships. The United States still holds one on leased land at Guantanamo Bay.
Occupation Control of a land by another country's army. American troops stayed in Cuba for several years.
Overseas Across the sea from your own country.
Paris The French capital, where the two sides signed the peace in December 1898.
Peace The end of a war, or a time without one.
Protectorate A country that a stronger one partly controls. Rules passed in 1901 put Cuba in nearly that position.
Protocol A first written agreement. The one signed on August 12, 1898, was meant to stop the fighting.
Ratify To approve an agreement formally so that it takes effect.
Republic A country led by elected officials, with no king. Cuba's first president took office on May 20, 1902.
Senate The chamber of Congress that approved the peace on February 6, 1899, by 57 votes to 27.
Sovereignty The right to rule a land. Spain gave up all claim to it over Cuba.
Territory Land that belongs to a country without being one of its states.
Treaty A written agreement between countries. The one that ended this war was signed on December 10, 1898.
Twenty Million The number of dollars the United States paid Spain for the Philippines.
Vote A formal choice made by ballot or voice. The peace passed the Senate with only one to spare.
World Power A country strong enough to act all around the globe. The United States became one after 1898.

How this list was compiled: Own work: the 84 words and every clue were written for this page. Dates, places and numbers were checked on October 9, 2026 against the U.S. State Department Office of the Historian (https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/spanish-american-war), the Library of Congress guide World of 1898 (https://guides.loc.gov/world-of-1898), the National Archives page on the Platt Amendment (https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/platt-amendment) and English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rough_Riders, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1898) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_journalism. Licence: own work

How it works

This Spanish-American War word search hides 15 words, among them Cuba, Maine, Yellow Press, Rough Riders, Treaty and Philippines. Four more lists follow the war of 1898 from Havana to Manila Bay, and every word has a one-line meaning.

Read the full guide

From Havana to Manila Bay in four lists

Start from a list splits the 84 words: Road to War (21) has Havana, Ultimatum and Headline; Caribbean Campaign (23) has San Juan Hill, Kettle Hill and Guanica; War in the Pacific (19) has Manila Bay, Guam and Luzon; Peace and After (21) runs from Protocol to Protectorate.

The dates are in the meanings

Each meaning carries the date or number a quiz would ask for: "The Pacific island whose Spanish governor surrendered in June 1898 without knowing that war had begun." is Guam. No person is a puzzle word. To add one from your unit, type Roosevelt, Dewey or McKinley on the last line of the list.

Yellow journalism has 16 letters, too long for the grid, so the list has Yellow Press and Journalism.
Easy Spanish-American War keeps to 15 words of 4 or 5 letters, such as Cuba, Guam, Navy and Fleet.
The grid drops spaces, so look for ROUGHRIDERS, SANJUANHILL, MANILABAY and PUERTORICO.

Questions and answers

When was the Spanish-American War?

In 1898. Congress voted for war on April 25, the first battle was fought at Manila Bay on May 1, a cease-fire was signed on August 12, and the Treaty of Paris ended the war on December 10.

What caused the Spanish-American War?

Cubans had been fighting Spanish rule since 1895, and many Americans sided with them. After the battleship Maine exploded and sank in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, Congress demanded that Spain give up Cuba. Spain refused.

Who were the Rough Riders?

The 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, a regiment of cowboys, miners, hunters and college men raised in 1898. Their horses were not sent to Cuba with them, so they fought on foot, at the San Juan Heights on July 1 among other places.

What did the United States gain from the Spanish-American War?

Spain gave up its claim to Cuba, handed over Puerto Rico and Guam, and sold the Philippines for $20 million. For the wars before and after, print the Civil War word search or the World War 1 word search.

All 84 words

Road to War 21

Road to War, continued

Caribbean Campaign 23

War in the Pacific 19

Peace and After 21

How it works

From Havana to Manila Bay in four lists

The dates are in the meanings

Questions and answers

More tools