Free 13 Colonies Word Search (Printable PDF + Answer Key)

Download and print this free 13 Colonies word search — 15 hidden words spanning the coast from JAMESTOWN to PLYMOUTH, with every colony from VIRGINIA to GEORGIA hiding somewhere in the grid. It’s a free PDF with the answer key included, sized for standard printer paper and ready for unit starters, map-study days, or homework ahead of a colonies quiz.

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Answer key includedFree · 2 pages · key on page 2

15hidden words

Gr 4+suggested grade

2pages: puzzle + key

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The 15 Words in This Puzzle

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Every word traces the coastline the colonists knew: SETTLERS landing at JAMESTOWN and PLYMOUTH, a royal CHARTER founding MARYLAND, and every COLONIST from MASSACHUSETTS down to VIRGINIA. Here’s the full word bank you’ll be hunting for:

About this puzzle

About the 13 Colonies word search

The word list is easy-to-medium: NEWYORK, GEORGIA and DELAWARE give younger solvers quick wins, while CONNECTICUT, PENNSYLVANIA and RHODEISLAND stretch spelling a little further. It works from about grade 4 up, and pairs nicely with labeling a blank map or comparing each CHARTER’s reasons for settling.

The colonies’ own fight for independence is covered in the American Revolution word search, a free 15-word printable PDF with its answer key. For the era that opened up the New World before these colonies existed, see the Age of Exploration word search, a free 15-word printable PDF with its answer key. For the single colony where this story begins, see the Jamestown word search, a free 15-word printable about England’s first permanent colony in Virginia.