Cambridge YLE Movers Word Search: 15 Topic Puzzles From the Official List
Published 23 September 2026
Movers is where Cambridge Young Learners English starts asking children to write. At Starters, most of the Reading & Writing paper is recognising and copying words. At Movers, several tasks ask the child to produce a word, spelled correctly, from a picture or a sentence, and marks are lost for spelling mistakes. The vocabulary also grows. The Movers list adds several hundred words to Starters, and they’re harder: temperature, dictionary, helicopter, stomachache.
That makes a word search useful in a specific way. At Movers level, the puzzle’s job is to bridge recognising a word to spelling it — first finding it from the printed list, then finding it from a picture with no list at all. Below are fifteen ten-word sets grouped by exam topic, the settings that suit Movers-age children, and a plan that makes that shift deliberately.
If your child is still on Starters, begin with our Starters word search sets. The format below is the same, one level up.
How Movers vocabulary differs from Starters
Three things change, and each affects how you set up the puzzle.
Words get longer. Starters is mostly one- and two-syllable nouns. Movers adds supermarket, temperature, passenger and dictionary. Long words are easier to spot in a grid but harder to spell, so the recall stage matters more.
Abstract words and adjectives appear. Better, worse, clever, naughty, expensive. You can’t draw worse. For these, meaning clues (“the opposite of better”) work where pictures don’t.
Spelling traps multiply. Cupboard (silent p), biscuit (ui), yoghurt, neighbour, thumb (silent b), theatre (British -re). A child who reads these confidently will still misspell them from memory.
Settings for Movers-age children (7–10): 10×10 grid with diagonals as the default · 12×12 with backwards words for confident children · word clues for a first pass, picture or meaning clues for revision. The reasoning behind each setting is in the difficulty guide by age.
The 15 puzzles
1. Wild animals
bear · spider · snake · whale · dolphin · lion · tiger · wolf · zebra · penguin
2. Food and snacks
cheese · soup · butter · sandwich · biscuit · lemon · chocolate · noodles · salad · yoghurt
3. Places in town
museum · airport · castle · stadium · supermarket · hotel · bank · factory · theatre · temple
4. Body parts
tooth · stomach · shoulder · knee · elbow · ankle · thumb · cheek · chin · wrist
5. Clothes and accessories
boots · belt · gloves · scarf · uniform · helmet · jacket · pyjamas · shorts · pocket
6. Home and furniture
sofa · mirror · cupboard · curtain · cushion · shelf · towel · lamp · ceiling · carpet
7. Transport and travel
helicopter · van · motorbike · lorry · bicycle · tram · ferry · taxi · seatbelt · passenger
8. Family and friends
cousin · nephew · niece · neighbour · adult · teenager · grandson · granddaughter · twin · stepmother
9. Weather and seasons
cloudy · stormy · spring · autumn · thunder · lightning · umbrella · temperature · windy · rainbow
10. Health and feelings
headache · toothache · stomachache · fever · better · worse · hurt · tired · hungry · thirsty
11. Sports and games
basketball · badminton · baseball · volleyball · golf · karate · skateboard · skiing · chess · gymnastics
12. Describing people
tall · thin · young · beautiful · clever · funny · angry · quiet · naughty · kind
13. Nature and countryside
mountain · river · lake · field · hill · rock · path · waterfall · valley · cave
14. Jobs
doctor · nurse · pilot · chef · farmer · firefighter · postman · police · dentist · soldier
15. Actions
climb · jump · catch · throw · kick · pull · push · wave · clap · bounce
Two sets need a note. Set 4 (body parts) is the hardest of the fifteen for spelling: stomach, thumb, knee and wrist each have a letter you don’t hear. Run it twice. Set 10 mixes nouns (headache) with comparatives (better, worse). Use word clues for it even at the revision stage, because a picture of “worse” is anyone’s guess.
A note on grid size: a word can’t be longer than the grid. Sets 3, 9, 10 and 14 each have an 11-letter word (supermarket, temperature, stomachache, firefighter), so use 12×12 for those. Granddaughter in Set 8 has 13 letters and only fits a 15×15 grid; leave it out of smaller grids and check it in writing instead.
A five-week plan: from finding to spelling
Movers preparation usually runs over a school term, so the plan below paces fifteen sets across five weeks, three per week, with the clue type changing as the child progresses.
| Week | Sets | Clue type | What the child is doing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1, 2, 3 | Word list | Meeting the spelling |
| 2 | 4, 5, 6 | Word list, then picture on a repeat | Starting to recall |
| 3 | 7, 8, 9 | Picture (meaning for abstract words) | Recalling before searching |
| 4 | 10–15, one a day | Picture or meaning | Recall across the whole list |
| 5 | Any set with 2+ hints used | Spoken clue | Fixing weak topics |
The key move is in Week 3: once the printed list disappears, the child has to bring the spelling to mind before they can look for it. That’s the same mental act as writing a word in the exam. The science behind why that works is in our post on why hiding the word helps children remember it.
After each puzzle, spend one minute on writing. Ask the child to write three words from the set without looking. That short check shows you which words have moved from recognition to recall, and which haven’t.
What a word search won’t do for Movers
It’s worth being clear about the limits. A word search trains vocabulary recognition and, with hidden-word clues, spelling recall. It does not practise:
- Listening, which is a whole paper, with its own task types.
- Speaking: the Movers speaking test asks the child to describe pictures and tell a short story.
- Sentence-level writing: several Reading & Writing tasks need the child to complete sentences, where grammar matters as much as spelling.
For the spelling side, SpellEasy’s YLE Movers word list spelling guide covers the words most often misspelled and how to practise writing them. Think of the puzzle as the vocabulary engine, not the whole preparation.
Using the built-in Movers topics
WordSearchEasy includes 30 built-in Movers topics, the fifteen above plus sets such as Shopping & Money, Days & Months and Music & Arts. Each word has a picture and a translation into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish or French. Two topics per level are free; the rest come with Premium. Because the app counts a word as mastered only after the child finds it three times without a hint, the progress screen shows at a glance which Movers topics still need work, which is exactly what the Week 5 review needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Cambridge Movers test spelling?
Yes, more than Starters does. In several Reading & Writing tasks the child writes words from pictures or completes sentences, and the Cambridge marking scheme requires correct spelling for the mark. Listening tasks that ask the child to write a name or a word also expect accurate spelling.
How many words are on the Movers vocabulary list?
The Movers list adds several hundred words to the Starters list, and Movers candidates are expected to know both. Cambridge publishes the full list, grouped by topic, in its Movers word list document on the Cambridge English website. The fifteen sets on this page are drawn from those topics.
What age is Cambridge Movers for?
Cambridge suggests roughly 8 to 10 years old, but many children in Hong Kong, Singapore and Spain sit it earlier. The settings here assume 7 to 10: a 10×10 grid with diagonals as the default, stepping up to 12×12 for confident children.
How long before the exam should we start?
Around one school term is comfortable for vocabulary: the five-week plan above, then a few weeks of mixed revision. Starting earlier with one puzzle a week is also fine. Short and regular beats a cram in the final fortnight.
Should we do Starters puzzles first?
If your child hasn’t taken Starters, yes, briefly. Movers assumes the Starters vocabulary, and running through the Starters sets quickly shows up any gaps. A child who finds every Starters word quickly can go straight to the Movers sets.
What comes after Movers?
Flyers, the third and highest YLE level. The same puzzle approach works, with bigger grids and more abstract words. Our Flyers word search sets follow the same format.
WordSearchEasy turns your child’s own word list — or one of 300+ built-in topic lists — into a word search in seconds, with picture and sound clues and a printable answer key. Download free on the App Store.