relativeFind to reveal
Double first cousins share all four grandparents, because two siblings from one family have children with two siblings from another family.
Family Word Search
Find familiar words. Discover something unexpected.
Puzzle10 words · 11×11 grid · Medium · Answer key included
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daughterFind to reveal
Marie Curie's daughter Irène also won a Nobel Prize in chemistry, making the same prestigious science award a two-generation family achievement.
ancestorFind to reveal
Your family tree doubles backward on paper, but ancestors repeat; otherwise its branches would soon require more people than ever lived.
guardianFind to reveal
Some ancient Roman women needed a legal guardian even as grown adults, while men could leave guardianship behind after reaching adulthood.
grandsonFind to reveal
Benjamin Franklin took his teenage grandson to France as his secretary, putting a family member to work on a major diplomatic mission.
brotherFind to reveal
The Brothers Grimm had an artist brother, Ludwig, who illustrated their fairy tales, making the books a project for three siblings.
siblingFind to reveal
The word sibling nearly vanished from English for centuries and was revived by scientists in the early twentieth century.
husbandFind to reveal
Husband first meant a household master or farmer, from Old Norse roots for house and dweller, before it meant a married man.
motherFind to reveal
A mother can carry her child's cells in her own body for decades after birth, a swap scientists call microchimerism.
fatherFind to reveal
Fatherhood can change hormone levels: studies have found lower testosterone in men after they become fathers and care for children.
True stories · Lima, Ohio
The two Jims
Twin brothers from Ohio were adopted by different families as babies in 1940 and grew up apart, not meeting again until they were 39. When they finally reunited in 1979, the coincidences astonished everyone. Both adoptive families had named the boys James. Both had married women named Linda, divorced, then married women named Betty. Both bit their nails, suffered tension headaches, and had owned dogs named Toy. Researchers at the University of Minnesota studied the pair as part of a famous project on twins raised apart. Their case became a centerpiece in the long debate over how much of who we are is family resemblance written in our genes.
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Leo Tolstoy
Trivia
According to the NHS, roughly what is the chance of a pregnancy involving identical twins: one in 250, in 1,000, or in 5,000?
About one in 250.
What name is given to the diagram that maps a person's relatives across many generations?
A family tree.
Besides humans, which ocean mammal is known for grandmothers that live long past their breeding years?
The orca, or killer whale.
What term describes relatives by marriage, such as a spouse's mother?
In-laws (mother-in-law, and so on).
What term means children born from a single pregnancy, such as twins, triplets, or quadruplets?
Multiples (a multiple birth).
Trivia · 1 / 5
According to the NHS, roughly what is the chance of a pregnancy involving identical twins: one in 250, in 1,000, or in 5,000?
About one in 250.
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Play →or printTrue stories · Salish Sea, Washington
Grandmother of the pod
Off the coast of Washington State, scientists tracking killer whales noticed that the loss of a grandmother was associated with a higher risk of death among her descendants. Female orcas can live for decades after they stop having young, and the elders lead the pod to salmon, especially in lean years when food is scarce. Studying hundreds of whales, researchers found that a whale who lost its grandmother faced sharply worse odds in the seasons that followed. The finding gave real-world weight to an old idea about people too: that helping descendants may help explain why females in some species live long after their reproductive years. Family wisdom, it seems, has survival value above and below the waves.
Anyone who does anything to help a child in this life is a hero to me.
Fred Rogers
Find mother, father and brother among the words hidden in this puzzle. Play free online or print the puzzle with its answer key.
Is this family word search free to print?
This family word search is a free printable puzzle with 10 hidden words in an 11×11 grid. Find words like RELATIVE, DAUGHTER, ANCESTOR hidden across, down, and diagonally. You can play it right here in your browser — tap the first and last letter of a word — or download it as a printable PDF with the full answer key on page two. It's free for personal and classroom use, so teachers can print copies for a whole class with no sign-up and no account. Word searches like this one are a proven way to build vocabulary, spelling, and word-shape recognition, which is why they're a favourite with ESL learners, elementary classrooms, and anyone who likes a quiet puzzle with their coffee.
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Sources: Jim twins reared apart, reunited at 39 (The Guardian) · Killer whale grandmothers boost survival of calves (University of York) · Grandmother hypothesis · Microchimerism (mother carries child's cells)
Word list, facts & trivia researched and compiled by Sam Letterman — spotted a mistake? Tell us and we’ll fix it.