Hanukkah Word Scramble (Free Printable with Answer Key)

The word list

Spellings follow the most common English forms: Hanukkah, sufganiyot, shamash, hanukkiah. If your family writes Chanukah or latkas, change the word in the box and the puzzle updates.

How to use a Hanukkah word scramble

Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar and lasts eight nights, with one more candle lit on the hanukkiah each evening and the shamash, the helper candle, used to light the others. The Hanukkah article on Wikipedia gives the background: the festival recalls the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean revolt, and the fried foods remember the oil that is said to have burned for eight days.

1. Choose how many words to use. Twelve is plenty for second graders; the full 22 suits older children and adults.
2. Decide on the word bank. With it, solvers match letters to a list; without it, they need to know the words.
3. Print a sheet per player and set the answer key page aside.
4. Solve while the latkes fry, or hand the sheets out at a Hebrew school table before the lesson starts.

Variations for home and class

• Dreidel round. Spin a dreidel to decide the next word to solve: nun means skip, gimel means solve two, hei means solve one, shin means pass the pencil.
• Eight-night sheet. Set puzzles to 8 and solve one fresh sheet each evening after the candles are lit.
• Gelt prizes. Each correct word earns one chocolate coin, which keeps young solvers going to the end.
• Story order. After solving, ask older children to put Temple, Maccabees, Miracle and Menorah into the order they appear in the Hanukkah story and retell it in four sentences.

Tips for parents and teachers

Long words such as sufganiyot and applesauce are hard to untangle, so switch on the first letter hint for anyone under about 9. Multi-word answers such as eight nights and chocolate coins keep their spaces, which is a clue in itself.

In a mixed classroom, present the puzzle beside the winter holidays word scramble so every tradition in the room gets a turn. Describe Hanukkah as a Jewish festival of lights and leave personal customs to the families who keep them.

Hebrew words have more than one accepted English spelling. The list uses one common form for each, and you can edit any entry before printing.

Printing tips

Each puzzle fills one letter or A4 page, and the key prints separately so it stays out of sight. Blue or white paper suits the holiday; keep the letter tiles dark for easy reading. Choose up to 10 puzzles for a class and each copy gets its own letter mix.