World and history · hangman category
US States Hangman Words
All fifty US state names as hangman words, from Ohio to Massachusetts. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key for geography lessons.
Read the word list
This list contains all fifty states and nothing else: forty one-word names in the main list and the ten two-word names, from New Hampshire to West Virginia, in the phrase list. Because the set is fixed, it works as a quiz as well as a game, and a class can check off each state as it comes up.
Difficulty varies a great deal. Ohio, Iowa, Utah and Texas are short and friendly. Mississippi, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania are long, with repeated letters that reward patient guessing. Some names look easy but hide traps: the silent c in Connecticut and the double s and double t in Massachusetts mean players who know the sound still misspell the word. Hawaii and Alaska are short and vowel heavy, so they fall quickly to a player who guesses a first.
50 entries. Our solver needed 2.1 wrong guesses on average: 21 easy, 25 medium and 4 hard. The toughest is new york (7 misses), the quickest delaware (0).
- alabama Medium · 2
- alaska Medium · 2
- arizona Medium · 2
- arkansas Medium · 2
- california Easy · 1
- colorado Medium · 2
- connecticut Easy · 1
- delaware Easy · 0
- florida Medium · 3
- georgia Easy · 0
- hawaii Medium · 3
- idaho Hard · 5
- illinois Easy · 1
- indiana Easy · 1
- iowa Hard · 6
- kansas Easy · 1
- kentucky Medium · 3
- louisiana Easy · 1
- maine Medium · 4
- maryland Medium · 2
- massachusetts Easy · 1
- michigan Easy · 1
- minnesota Easy · 1
- mississippi Easy · 0
- missouri Easy · 1
- montana Medium · 2
- nebraska Easy · 1
- nevada Easy · 1
- ohio Medium · 3
- oklahoma Medium · 2
- oregon Medium · 3
- pennsylvania Easy · 0
- tennessee Easy · 0
- texas Easy · 0
- utah Medium · 4
- vermont Medium · 3
- virginia Easy · 1
- washington Medium · 2
- wisconsin Easy · 1
- wyoming Medium · 3
- new hampshire Medium · 4
- new jersey Hard · 5
- new mexico Medium · 4
- new york Hard · 7
- north carolina Medium · 2
- north dakota Medium · 3
- rhode island Easy · 1
- south carolina Medium · 2
- south dakota Medium · 2
- west virginia Medium · 3
Words worth a closer look
- massachusettsThirteen letters, the longest state name. It has double s and double t, plus the unusual ch, so the spelling is the real challenge rather than the guessing.
- mississippiFour i's, four s's and two p's in eleven letters. Guessing i and s early fills most of the word, a classic example of how frequent letters pay off.
- connecticutThe second c is silent when you say the name aloud, so many students leave it out. Good for a quick spelling lesson after the round.
- hawaiiSix letters with four of them vowels. It is solved quickly by vowel guessers, though the double i catches some spellers out.
- washingtonThe only state named for a president. Students often confuse it with the capital city, so it is a useful moment to point out the difference.
- maineFour letters and one syllable, making it an easy opener for the youngest players.
- west virginiaBecame a separate state in 1863, formed from the western counties of Virginia. Because virginia is also in the main list, it makes a handy pair for a lesson on how the two relate.
Using this list in class
Pair this list with a blank outline map of the United States. Each time a state is solved, the class labels it on the map, and by the end of the period every state has been located as well as spelled. This works well in third to fifth grade social studies.
Teachers can split the list by region: New England, the Southwest, the Midwest and so on, and run one round per region. Students can also match each answer to its capital before moving on. For homework, send the printed sheet home and ask families to find three states on a road map.
Print a US States 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
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