Illinois Word Search
Springfield is the state capital of Illinois, though Chicago is by far the largest city. Tall grass prairie once covered most of the land, which is how the Prairie State got its name.
Illinois word search (Easy)
Find these 10 words
10 words, across and down only
- bean
- chicago
- corn
- deep dish
- farm
- lake
- lincoln
- prairie
- river
- train
Illinois word search (Medium)
Find these 15 words
15 words, adds diagonals
- bean
- cardinal
- chicago
- corn
- deep dish
- farm
- lake
- lake michigan
- lincoln
- prairie
- river
- skyscraper
- soybean
- springfield
- train
Illinois word search (Hard)
Find these 20 words
20 words, any direction, backwards too
- bean
- cardinal
- chicago
- corn
- deep dish
- farm
- lake
- lake michigan
- lincoln
- ohio river
- peoria
- prairie
- river
- rockford
- route
- skyscraper
- soybean
- springfield
- train
- white oak
Free to print. Press Print for a clean sheet with just the puzzle and the word list. Turn on Large print for bigger letters, or Show answers to print the answer key.
Words in the Illinois word search
Every word used across the three levels, with a quick note on what it means.
- chicago
- Illinois's largest city, on the shore of Lake Michigan
- corn
- One of Illinois's two biggest crops, grown across the state
- prairie
- Open grassland that once covered most of Illinois
- lincoln
- Abraham Lincoln lived in Illinois before becoming president
- lake
- Illinois borders Lake Michigan and has many inland lakes
- farm
- Farmland covers roughly three quarters of Illinois
- train
- Chicago is the busiest rail hub in the United States
- bean
- Nickname for Cloud Gate, the mirrored sculpture in Chicago
- river
- The Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio rivers all touch the state
- springfield
- The capital of Illinois, in the center of the state
- lake michigan
- The Great Lake that forms Illinois's northeast border
- deep dish
- A thick crusted pizza style that began in Chicago
- skyscraper
- The first modern skyscraper was built in Chicago in 1885
- cardinal
- The northern cardinal is the Illinois state bird
- soybean
- A major Illinois crop used for oil and animal feed
- route
- Historic Route 66 began in Chicago and ran to California
- peoria
- A city on the Illinois River, long a manufacturing center
- rockford
- A city in northern Illinois on the Rock River
- ohio river
- Forms the southeastern boundary of Illinois
- white oak
- The state tree of Illinois, common in its woodlands
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