US Letter · 3 puzzles · 50 words
State Capitals Word Search
All 50 state capitals hidden across three word search puzzles.
Free teacher resource
States and Capitals Crossword Puzzles
Ten printable puzzles for learning the 50 states and their capitals one region at a time. Each region – the Northeast, Midwest, South and West – has a crossword where the clue is the state and the answer is its capital, and one the other way round; then a mixed crossword of states and capitals and a word search of every state capital.
Every sheet comes as an A4 and a US Letter PDF.Print it, then play it
Word searches
Crosswords
US Letter · 1 crossword · 9 clues
Northeast State Capitals Crossword
The Northeast states are the clues; students write in each capital city.
US Letter · 1 crossword · 11 clues
Midwest State Capitals Crossword
The Midwest states are the clues; students write in each capital city.
US Letter · 1 crossword · 13 clues
South State Capitals Crossword
The South states are the clues; students write in each capital city.
US Letter · 1 crossword · 13 clues
West State Capitals Crossword
The West states are the clues; students write in each capital city.
US Letter · 1 crossword · 9 clues
Northeast States Crossword
The Northeast capitals are the clues; students write in the state each one belongs to.
US Letter · 1 crossword · 11 clues
Midwest States Crossword
The Midwest capitals are the clues; students write in the state each one belongs to.
US Letter · 1 crossword · 13 clues
South States Crossword
The South capitals are the clues; students write in the state each one belongs to.
US Letter · 1 crossword · 13 clues
West States Crossword
The West capitals are the clues; students write in the state each one belongs to.
US Letter · 2 crosswords · 28 clues
States and Capitals Crossword
Two crosswords mixing both directions: some clues name a state and ask for its capital, others name a capital and ask for its state.
For teachers
How these worksheets work
Start with the Northeast (9 states) and finish with the South, the largest region. Answers are written without spaces or periods, and the numbers in brackets give the length of each word, such as (6,4) for Little Rock. A capital that gives its state away, like Oklahoma City, is left out of the capital crosswords. The puzzles check themselves, so there is no answer sheet.
Every puzzle is plain black type on white, so it prints and photocopies cleanly. Each PDF holds two or more different puzzles, one per page, so a class can share one file.
How to use these states and capitals crosswords
Work through the country one region at a time. Each region has two crosswords: in one the clue is a state and the answer is its capital, in the other the clue is a capital and the answer is its state. Start with the Northeast, the smallest region, and finish with the South; the mixed crossword and the state capitals word search make good reviews once all four regions are done.
Which grades are they for?
Most students learn the state capitals in fourth or fifth grade. The Northeast and West crosswords suit grades 3 to 4, the Midwest and South grades 4 to 5, and the mixed crossword grades 5 to 6.
Tips for learning the capitals
Learn the capitals that share a name with a big city first, then the ones that surprise people – the capital of New York is Albany, not New York City, and the capital of California is Sacramento, not Los Angeles. Saying the pair aloud while writing it in the grid helps it stick.
Frequently asked questions
How many state capitals are there?
There are 50 state capitals, one for each state. Washington, D.C. is the capital of the whole country but is not a state.
What grade learns states and capitals?
Most US students learn the states and their capitals in grades 4 and 5, often one region at a time.
Why are some capitals missing from the crosswords?
A capital that gives its state away, such as Oklahoma City or Indianapolis, is left out of the capital crosswords, and the South crossword uses 13 of its 16 states so the grid fits the page. Every capital is in the state capitals word search.
Do the crosswords have a word bank?
No – the clues and the word lengths are enough to solve them. The state capitals word search lists all 50 capitals if students need a reminder.
Can I print the crosswords on A4 paper?
Yes. Every crossword comes as a US Letter PDF and an A4 PDF.
Which state capitals are hardest to remember?
Capitals that are smaller than the state's best-known city, such as Albany (New York), Sacramento (California), Tallahassee (Florida), Springfield (Illinois) and Harrisburg (Pennsylvania), are the ones students mix up most.
Print it, then play it
