Five ways to sense the world
We learn about the world through our five senses, and this word search gathers them all. You'll track down the senses themselves — SIGHT, HEARING, TOUCH, TASTE and SMELL — and the body parts that do the work: the EYES, EARS, NOSE, TONGUE and SKIN.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so it changes every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a Hard-mode challenge once the diagonals and backwards words appear.
What our senses tell us
Each sense gives us its own clues, and the words are here. Our eyes give us VISION, our ears pick up SOUND, our hands feel TEXTURE — ROUGH or SMOOTH — and our nose catches a SCENT or AROMA. Best of all, the tongue tastes FLAVOUR in four ways: SWEET, SOUR, SALTY and BITTER.
Sense organs and the brain
Each sense works by sending messages to the brain, which puts them together into our picture of the world. The EYES turn light into the pictures of SIGHT, the EARS turn vibrations in the air into SOUND, and the SKIN — our largest organ — feels TOUCH all over, sensing TEXTURE, temperature and pain. The NOSE and TONGUE are a team: much of what we call FLAVOUR is really SMELL, which is why food tastes dull when you have a cold.
The senses often work together, and some are sharper than ours in the animal world — a dog's sense of SMELL is thousands of times stronger than a person's, and an eagle's SIGHT far beats our own. Talking about the five senses is also a lovely way for young children to describe and explore everything around them, from a ROUGH pinecone to a SWEET strawberry.
Great for early-years science
The five senses are a classic infant topic, and this puzzle pairs perfectly with a sensory lesson or 'all about me' theme — Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words for new readers. Play online, print a PDF pack, or build your own grid with Make Your Own.
Frequently asked questions
What's in the five senses word search?
The five senses — sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell — plus the body parts and describing words like texture, flavour, sweet and sour. Each puzzle uses a fresh mix.
Which senses and body parts are included?
All five senses — SIGHT, HEARING, TOUCH, TASTE and SMELL — plus the EYES, EARS, NOSE, TONGUE and SKIN that do the sensing.
Is it good for early-years science?
Made for it — the five senses are a classic infant topic. Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words for new readers.