Animals and nature · hangman category
Dinosaurs Hangman Words
Dinosaur hangman words with real genus names, fossil terms and paleontology vocabulary. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key and spelling notes.
Read the word list
Dinosaur names are some of the longest words that elementary students attempt to spell, and many children can say tyrannosaurus and triceratops long before they can write them. This list uses real genus names, spelled as paleontologists write them, together with the vocabulary of the field: fossil, excavate, skeleton, strata, sediment, and the three periods of the Mesozoic era.
Short entries such as dig, egg, bone and tail keep the youngest players in. The long names are the draw for older children, and they play very differently: stegosaurus, allosaurus and brachiosaurus share an ending that experienced players spot at once, while archaeopteryx and pachycephalosaurus hold rare letters and length that take many guesses to uncover. Pterodactyl and pteranodon are flying reptiles, not dinosaurs in the strict sense, which a teacher can use as a discussion prompt.
80 entries. Our solver needed 2.3 wrong guesses on average: 41 easy, 26 medium and 13 hard. The toughest is jaw (11 misses), the quickest triceratops (0).
- tyrannosaurus Medium · 2
- triceratops Easy · 0
- stegosaurus Easy · 1
- velociraptor Easy · 1
- spinosaurus Easy · 1
- archaeopteryx Easy · 1
- pterodactyl Easy · 1
- fossil Medium · 3
- paleontologist Easy · 0
- paleontology Easy · 1
- excavate Easy · 1
- excavation Easy · 1
- skeleton Easy · 0
- skull Hard · 6
- bone Hard · 9
- fang Hard · 6
- claw Hard · 6
- tail Medium · 3
- dig Hard · 7
- egg Hard · 9
- nest Easy · 1
- footprint Medium · 3
- tracks Medium · 2
- herbivore Easy · 0
- carnivore Easy · 1
- omnivore Easy · 1
- predator Easy · 1
- mesozoic Easy · 1
- triassic Easy · 1
- jurassic Medium · 2
- cretaceous Easy · 1
- reptile Easy · 0
- amber Medium · 4
- asteroid Easy · 0
- strata Easy · 1
- sediment Easy · 0
- prehistoric Easy · 0
- ancient Easy · 1
- museum Easy · 1
- feathers Easy · 0
- horns Hard · 7
- plates Medium · 2
- spikes Hard · 6
- armor Easy · 1
- crest Easy · 0
- scales Medium · 4
- herd Hard · 5
- swamp Hard · 6
- volcano Medium · 3
- meteor Easy · 0
- lizard Easy · 1
- roar Easy · 1
- tooth Medium · 4
- teeth Medium · 2
- jaw Hard · 11
- trilobite Easy · 1
- brachiosaurus Easy · 0
- diplodocus Easy · 1
- ankylosaurus Medium · 2
- allosaurus Medium · 2
- parasaurolophus Easy · 0
- pachycephalosaurus Easy · 0
- iguanodon Easy · 1
- apatosaurus Medium · 2
- compsognathus Medium · 2
- pteranodon Easy · 1
- brontosaurus Medium · 2
- dinosaur bones Medium · 2
- fossil hunter Easy · 1
- dig site Hard · 7
- baby dinosaur Hard · 6
- dinosaur egg Medium · 3
- plant eater Medium · 3
- meat eater Medium · 3
- mesozoic era Medium · 2
- long neck Medium · 4
- three horns Easy · 1
- sharp teeth Medium · 2
- prehistoric world Medium · 2
- museum exhibit Medium · 2
Words worth a closer look
- tyrannosaurusFrom Greek words meaning tyrant lizard. Thirteen letters, with the s and a each appearing twice, so a few lucky guesses fill much of the grid.
- triceratopsMeans three-horned face in Greek. The word has two r's and the unusual ending ops, and a player who finds the t and the s early can often fill the rest.
- stegosaurusMeans roofed lizard, from Greek words for roof and lizard. The saurus ending, from the Greek word for lizard, appears in many dinosaur names, including spinosaurus and tyrannosaurus.
- velociraptorBuilt from Latin words for swift and robber. The c is soft before the i, which is the usual spelling trap, and the two r's sit three letters from the end.
- pterodactylNot a dinosaur, and neither is pteranodon: both belong to a separate group of flying reptiles. The silent p at the start is a classic spelling trap, and a player who skips it will not find the first letter.
- archaeopteryxMeans ancient wing. A feathered fossil often discussed as a link between dinosaurs and birds, and one of the hardest words on the list because of the ae, the pt cluster and the final x.
- paleontologistA scientist who studies ancient life. Some dictionaries spell it palaeontologist, with the extra a. In American English the shorter spelling is standard.
Using this list in class
A dinosaur unit in kindergarten through third grade is the obvious use. Start with a round of fang, claw and egg, then build to the genus names and ask students which are herbivores and which are carnivores. Each solved name can go on a class timeline of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
The saurus ending is a good way into word parts. Write the Greek roots on the board and have students predict the meaning of a new name, such as brachiosaurus, before the answer is revealed. Paleontology vocabulary supports a fossil dig station: students match a solved word to a fossil or a photo of a museum skeleton.
Print a Dinosaurs 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.
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