Animals and nature · hangman category
Animals Hangman Words
Hangman words for animals from around the world, from lions and zebras to platypus and armadillo. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key.
Read the word list
This is the broad list: wild mammals and reptiles from every continent, chosen because children meet them in books, zoos and nature shows. Familiar names such as lion, bear and wolf sit alongside kangaroo, giraffe and chimpanzee, and a few classification words (mammal, reptile, amphibian, habitat) are included so the list can double as a science review.
Short animals carry the easy end. Bat, fox and elk are solved in a few guesses even by a first grader. The hard end is full of letter oddities: hippopotamus and rhinoceros are long, platypus and porcupine repeat letters in unhelpful places, and zebra, jaguar and lynx carry z, j and y, letters few players try early. Phrases such as red panda, snow leopard and bald eagle extend the same ideas with a word break that helps a group work together.
74 entries. Our solver needed 3.1 wrong guesses on average: 21 easy, 36 medium and 17 hard. The toughest is fox (15 misses), the quickest elephant (0).
- elephant Easy · 0
- giraffe Easy · 1
- zebra Medium · 2
- kangaroo Medium · 2
- crocodile Easy · 1
- alligator Easy · 1
- hippopotamus Easy · 0
- rhinoceros Easy · 1
- cheetah Easy · 1
- leopard Medium · 3
- jaguar Medium · 3
- lynx Hard · 6
- lion Medium · 3
- tiger Hard · 6
- bear Hard · 10
- wolf Hard · 8
- fox Hard · 15
- coyote Medium · 3
- hyena Medium · 3
- gorilla Easy · 1
- chimpanzee Easy · 0
- orangutan Medium · 2
- monkey Hard · 6
- lemur Medium · 3
- sloth Medium · 2
- panda Medium · 2
- koala Easy · 1
- platypus Medium · 3
- armadillo Easy · 1
- porcupine Easy · 1
- hedgehog Medium · 2
- squirrel Easy · 0
- chipmunk Medium · 3
- beaver Hard · 6
- otter Medium · 2
- badger Hard · 6
- raccoon Medium · 2
- skunk Hard · 6
- moose Medium · 2
- elk Hard · 6
- bison Medium · 2
- buffalo Medium · 2
- camel Medium · 4
- llama Medium · 2
- antelope Easy · 1
- gazelle Medium · 2
- meerkat Easy · 1
- mongoose Medium · 2
- anteater Easy · 1
- walrus Medium · 3
- dolphin Medium · 2
- flamingo Medium · 2
- chameleon Medium · 2
- iguana Medium · 2
- tortoise Easy · 1
- lizard Easy · 1
- bat Hard · 11
- mammal Medium · 4
- reptile Easy · 0
- amphibian Easy · 1
- habitat Medium · 2
- red panda Medium · 2
- giant panda Medium · 4
- grizzly bear Hard · 8
- sea otter Easy · 0
- arctic fox Hard · 12
- howler monkey Hard · 6
- snow leopard Medium · 2
- komodo dragon Medium · 2
- tree frog Hard · 5
- gray wolf Hard · 6
- mountain goat Medium · 2
- bald eagle Hard · 5
- spider monkey Medium · 3
Words worth a closer look
- hippopotamusFrom the Greek for river horse, though the animal is more closely related to whales than to horses. It has twelve letters, with p appearing three times and o twice.
- rhinocerosGreek for nose horn. The h after the r is the spelling trap, because it is not heard when the word is spoken, and a player who skips it will not fill the second letter.
- platypusGreek for flat foot. One of the few mammals that lay eggs, and the p appears twice, at the start and again just before the u.
- chameleonGreek for ground lion. The ch is hard here, spoken like k, which makes the word easy to misspell.
- orangutanFrom Malay words meaning person of the forest. Nine letters, with a and n each appearing twice, so a lucky guess of a or n fills several spaces at once.
- armadilloSpanish for little armored one. Nine letters with a double l in the middle, which shows up after the correct guess of l.
- porcupineVia Old French from a Latin phrase meaning spiny pig, though the animal is a rodent and not related to pigs.
Using this list in class
Pair the list with a science unit on animal classification. Before a round, ask students to place each word in a column labeled mammal, reptile, amphibian or bird; after the game, check the sorting against the answer key. Kindergarten teachers can focus on the short words, such as bat, fox and elk, and have each child draw the animal that was solved.
Third and fourth grade can use the longer words to practice syllable counting: clap the syllables in hippopotamus and compare with the number of letters. The list also works well for a substitute day, since the categories are clear and no setup is needed. Print the sheet for a zoo field trip bus ride.
Print a Animals Hangman worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
- Zoo Hangman WordsZoo animal hangman words and phrases, from lion and zebra to hippopotamus and orangutan. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key.
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- Farm Animals Hangman WordsFarm animal hangman words covering animals, babies, buildings and sounds, with phrases and notes. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key.
- Ocean Hangman WordsOcean hangman words covering sea animals, coral reefs, tides and life under the waves. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key and notes.
- Pets Hangman WordsPet hangman words about dogs, cats, small animals and pet care, with phrases and notes. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key for class or home.
- Dinosaurs Hangman WordsDinosaur hangman words with real genus names, fossil terms and paleontology vocabulary. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key and spelling notes.