April Fools Day Word Search Puzzle worksheet - Puzzles to Print - Free Printable

Let’s solve this April Fools’ Day word search puzzle step by step.

We are given a grid of letters and a list of words to find. The directions say:
→ Find and circle the vocabulary words in the grid.
→ Look for them in all directions — forwards, backwards, up, down, and diagonally.

The word list is:
- APRIL
- BAMBOOZLE
- BEFuddle
- BEMUSE
- BEWILDER
- CAPER
- DELUDE
- DUMFOUND
- DUPE
- FARCE
- FEINT
- HOAX
- HOODWINK
- JEST
- JOKES
- LAUGHTER
- LEXITY (probably meant “LAXITY” or typo? But we’ll look for “LEXITY”)
- MALARKY
- MISCHIEF
- PRANK
- PREPOSTEROUS
- SHENANIGANS
- SILLY
- SURPRISE
- TOMFOOLERY
- TRICK
- WACKY

Note: Some words may be misspelled on purpose for fun (like “LEXITY”), but we’ll search exactly as written.

---

Step 1: Start with short, easy-to-spot words first.

Let’s try “APRIL”.

Look at row 1: P R E P O S T E R O U S A Z F P Y V Z → no “APRIL”

Row 2: C R W I E D E B K U R N J I T S R I F → no

Row 3: H O J U W T P S T O M F O O L E R Y D → has “FOOLER” but not “APRIL”

Wait — let’s scan vertically too.

Column 1: P, C, H, E, B, O, X, B, T, F, E, I, H, C, S, I, M, J, K → no “A” start

But wait — look at Row 5: B E W I L D E R E P O A U W G E P T H → starts with “BEWILDER”! That’s one of our words!

✔ Found: BEWILDER — Row 5, columns 1–8 (left to right)

Now cross it off the list.

Next, let’s look for “PRANK”.

Scan rows...

Row 6: O U F Y E S D P R K O I M H F E S E G → look: positions 7–11: D P R K O → close, but not “PRANK”

Wait — position 8–12: P R K O I → no

What about row 7: X P R A N K L R M D Y C C M E D D → YES! Columns 2–7: P R A N K L → so “PRANK” is there from col 2 to 6.

✔ Found: PRANK — Row 7, columns 2–6

Cross off.

Now “HOAX”

Look for H-O-A-X

Row 4: E S U M E B E U N E M E X Z K Q T U H → ends with H, but before that Q T U H — no

Row 9: B D L H Q D Y I G T X I W N R A I U A → has H at col 4, then Q — no

Row 10: T E Q Y L L I S R W N K R T E V P L C → no H

Row 11: F L F V L G L E Y P D T Z T C C K E X → no

Row 12: E Z S U K H S H E N A N I G A N S D R → has H at col 6 and 8 — check around

Col 6: H, then S — not O

Wait — row 13: I O L Y D U M C U C K N I W D O N H Q → ends with H Q — no

Row 14: H O A E D D U M B F O U N D I N G E → LOOK! First three letters: H O A — then E — not X

But wait — maybe diagonal?

Alternatively, look at row 15: C B K U H D U M J L E V I T Y W T C → has H at col 5

Not helping.

Try column-wise.

Column 1: P,C,H,E,B,O,X,B,T,F,E,I,H,C,S,I,M,J,K → no H-O-A-X

Column 2: R,R,O,S,E,U,P,D,E,L,Z,L,O,B,B,G,N,A,R → no

Wait — what about row 14 again: H O A E D D U M B F O U N D I N G E

If we go H-O-A-E — not X.

Maybe “HOAX” is backward? X-A-O-H? Unlikely.

Perhaps I missed it. Let’s skip and come back.

Try “JEST”

Short word. Look for J-E-S-T

Row 3: H O J U W T P S T O M F O O L E R Y D → J at col 3, then U — no

Row 17: M B T L N G K Y E R W I F C F J X J F → J at col 15 and 18 — check around

Col 15: F, then J — no

Row 18: J N E A C T J G A T K A C M W V L Z → J at start, then N — no

Row 19: K A R M V S D O V G B Y C J P R M → J at col 14 — before it C, after P — no

Diagonal? Maybe later.

Try “SILLY”

S-I-L-L-Y

Row 1: ...S A Z F P Y V Z — no

Row 2: ...I T S R I F — has S at end, but before R I — no

Row 3: ...O L E R Y D — no

Row 4: ...K Q T U H — no

Row 5: ...G E P T H — no

Row 6: ...F E S E G — S at col 10, then E — no

Row 7: ...C C M E D D — no

Row 8: ...E V P L C — no

Row 9: ...R A I U A — no

Row 10: ...T E V P L C — no

Row 11: ...T C C K E X — no

Row 12: ...N I G A N S D R — S at col 16 — before A N — no

Row 13: ...W D O N H Q — no

Row 14: ...I N G E — no

Row 15: ...V I T Y W T C — no

Row 16: ...X L E I U F J L L W R S X — ah! Look: ...J L L W R S X — so L L W — not S I L L Y

Wait — row 16: ...U F J L L W R S X — so J L L — not matching

Row 17: ...F C F J X J F — no

Row 18: ...M W V L Z — no

Row 19: ...B Y C J P R M — no

Hmm.

Try “TRICK”

T-R-I-C-K

Row 1: ...P Y V Z — no

Row 2: ...J I T S R I F — has I T S — not T R I

Row 3: ...T O M F O O L E R Y D — T at col 6, then O — no

Row 4: ...X Z K Q T U H — T at col 15 — before Q, after U — no

Row 5: ...W G E P T H — T at col 17 — before P, after H — no

Row 6: ...H F E S E G — no

Row 7: ...Y C C M E D D — no

Row 8: ...R T E V P L C — T at col 15 — before E, after V — no

Row 9: ...W N R A I U A — no

Row 10: ...N K R T E V P L C — T at col 14 — before R, after E — so R T E — not T R I

Wait — reverse? K C I R T? Unlikely.

This is taking time. Let me try a different approach.

Look at the bottom part of the grid — sometimes words are placed near the illustration.

Also, notice the word “PREPOSTEROUS” — long word, might stand out.

Row 1: P R E P O S T E R O U S A Z F P Y V Z → first 12 letters: P R E P O S T E R O U S — that’s “PREPOSTEROUS”! Yes!

✔ Found: PREPOSTEROUS — Row 1, columns 1–12

Great! Cross off.

Now “SHENANIGANS” — also long.

Look for S-H-E-N-A-N-I-G-A-N-S

Row 12: E Z S U K H S H E N A N I G A N S D R → let's see:

Positions: col 3: S, col 4: U — no

Col 7: S, col 8: H, col 9: E, col 10: N, col 11: A, col 12: N, col 13: I, col 14: G, col 15: A, col 16: N, col 17: S — yes! From col 7 to 17: S H E N A N I G A N S

That’s 11 letters — “SHENANIGANS” is 11 letters? S-H-E-N-A-N-I-G-A-N-S — yes, 11.

✔ Found: SHENANIGANS — Row 12, columns 7–17

Cross off.

Now “TOMFOOLERY”

T-O-M-F-O-O-L-E-R-Y

Look at row 3: H O J U W T P S T O M F O O L E R Y D → from col 6: T, col 7: P — no

Wait — col 10: T, col 11: O, col 12: M, col 13: F, col 14: O, col 15: O, col 16: L, col 17: E, col 18: R, col 19: Y — yes! Columns 10–19: T O M F O O L E R Y

Perfect.

✔ Found: TOMFOOLERY — Row 3, columns 10–19

Cross off.

Now “MISCHIEF”

M-I-S-C-H-I-E-F

Look for it.

Row 17: M B T L N G K Y E R W I F C F J X J F → M at start, then B — no

Row 18: J N E A C T J G A T K A C M W V L Z → M at col 14 — before C, after W — no

Row 19: K A R M V S D O V G B Y C J P R M → M at col 4 and 19 — col 4: M, then V — no

Column? Col 1: P,C,H,E,B,O,X,B,T,F,E,I,H,C,S,I,M,J,K — M at row 17 — above is I, below J — not I-S-C...

Wait — row 16: ...X L E I U F J L L W R S X — no M

Row 15: ...V I T Y W T C — no

Perhaps diagonal.

Or maybe I missed it in row 17: M B T L N G K Y E R W I F C F J X J F — if I take M, then skip, but no.

Another idea: look at row 14: H O A E D D U M B F O U N D I N G E — has M at col 8 — before U, after B — not I

Row 13: I O L Y D U M C U C K N I W D O N H Q — M at col 7 — before U, after C — not I

Row 12: ...N I G A N S D R — no M

Row 11: ...T C C K E X — no

Row 10: ...T E V P L C — no

Row 9: ...R A I U A — no

Row 8: ...R T E V P L C — no

Row 7: ...Y C C M E D D — M at col 12 — before C, after E — not I

Row 6: ...H F E S E G — no

Row 5: ...G E P T H — no

Row 4: ...X Z K Q T U H — no

Row 3: ...Y D — no

Row 2: ...R I F — no

Row 1: ...V Z — no

Perhaps vertical.

Col 8: E,B,T,E,R,P,R,L,Y,L,H,U,D,B,U,L,Y,A,Y — let's list:

Row 1 col 8: E

Row 2 col 8: B

Row 3 col 8: T

Row 4 col 8: E

Row 5 col 8: R

Row 6 col 8: P

Row 7 col 8: R

Row 8 col 8: L

Row 9 col 8: Y

Row 10 col 8: L

Row 11 col 8: H

Row 12 col 8: U

Row 13 col 8: D

Row 14 col 8: M

Row 15 col 8: U

Row 16 col 8: L

Row 17 col 8: Y

Row 18 col 8: A

Row 19 col 8: Y

At row 14 col 8: M — above is D (row 13), below is U (row 15) — not I-S-C...

Not working.

Maybe "MISCHIEF" is spelled differently or I need to look elsewhere.

Let's try "DUPE" — short word.

D-U-P-E

Row 1: ...A Z F P Y V Z — no D

Row 2: ...J I T S R I F — no

Row 3: ...Y D — D at end — before Y — not U

Row 4: ...T U H — U at col 16, H at 17 — before T — not D

Row 5: ...P T H — P at col 16, T at 17, H at 18 — not D U P E

Row 6: ...E S E G — E at col 10, S at 11, E at 12, G at 13 — not D

Row 7: ...E D D — E at col 15, D at 16, D at 17 — so E D D — not D U P E

Row 8: ...P L C — P at col 16, L at 17, C at 18 — not D

Row 9: ...I U A — I at col 16, U at 17, A at 18 — not D

Row 10: ...V P L C — V at col 15, P at 16, L at 17, C at 18 — not D

Row 11: ...C K E X — C at col 15, K at 16, E at 17, X at 18 — not D

Row 12: ...N S D R — N at col 15, S at 16, D at 17, R at 18 — so D at 17 — before S, after R — not U

Row 13: ...O N H Q — O at col 16, N at 17, H at 18, Q at 19 — not D

Row 14: ...I N G E — I at col 15, N at 16, G at 17, E at 18 — not D

Row 15: ...W T C — W at col 16, T at 17, C at 18 — not D

Row 16: ...W R S X — W at col 16, R at 17, S at 18, X at 19 — not D

Row 17: ...F J X J F — F at col 15, J at 16, X at 17, J at 18, F at 19 — not D

Row 18: ...W V L Z — W at col 15, V at 16, L at 17, Z at 18 — not D

Row 19: ...J P R M — J at col 14, P at 15, R at 16, M at 17 — not D

Vertical? Col 1: P,C,H,E,B,O,X,B,T,F,E,I,H,C,S,I,M,J,K — no D

Col 2: R,R,O,S,E,U,P,D,E,L,Z,L,O,B,B,G,N,A,R — D at row 8 — above P, below E — not U

Col 3: E,W,J,U,W,F,R,L,Q,F,S,O,A,K,U,T,T,E,A — no D

Col 4: P,I,U,M,I,Y,A,H,Y,V,U,L,E,B,D,L,N,C,R — D at row 15 — before B, after L — not U

This is frustrating. Let's try "FARCE"

F-A-R-C-E

Row 1: ...F P Y V Z — F at col 14, then P — not A

Row 2: ...R I F — R at col 17, I at 18, F at 19 — not F A R

Row 3: ...R Y D — R at col 18, Y at 19, D at 20 — not F

Row 4: ...T U H — no F

Row 5: ...G E P T H — no F

Row 6: ...F E S E G — F at col 1, then E — not A

Row 7: ...E D D — no F

Row 8: ...P L C — no F

Row 9: ...I U A — no F

Row 10: ...V P L C — no F

Row 11: ...C K E X — no F

Row 12: ...N S D R — no F

Row 13: ...O N H Q — no F

Row 14: ...I N G E — no F

Row 15: ...W T C — no F

Row 16: ...W R S X — no F

Row 17: ...F C F J X J F — F at col 1, then C — not A; also F at col 15, then C — not A; F at col 19 — alone

Row 18: ...W V L Z — no F

Row 19: ...J P R M — no F

Vertical? Col 1: P,C,H,E,B,O,X,B,T,F,E,I,H,C,S,I,M,J,K — F at row 10 — above T, below E — not A

Col 14: S,J,F,U,G,E,M,T,W,T,T,H,N,U,L,W,F,A,J — F at row 3, row 17, row 19

Row 3 col 14: F — above M (row 2 col 14), below U (row 4 col 14) — not A

Row 17 col 14: F — above W (row 16 col 14), below A (row 18 col 14) — so F, then A — good, but need R after A

Row 18 col 14: A — then row 19 col 14: J — not R

So not "FARCE"

Perhaps "FEINT"

F-E-I-N-T

Row 17: F at col 1, then B — no

Row 17 col 15: F, then C — no

Row 18: no F at start

Row 19: no

Col 1: F at row 10 — above T, below E — so T,F,E — not F,E,I

Col 15: V,F,T,T,T,T,X,W,W — F at row 17 — above X (row 16), below W (row 18) — not E

This is taking too long. Let me try to find "APRIL" since it's the title.

A-P-R-I-L

Look for A at start.

Row 1: P... no A at start

Row 2: C... no

Row 3: H... no

Row 4: E... no

Row 5: B... no

Row 6: O... no

Row 7: X... no

Row 8: B... no

Row 9: T... no

Row 10: F... no

Row 11: E... no

Row 12: E... no

Row 13: I... no

Row 14: H... no

Row 15: C... no

Row 16: S... no

Row 17: M... no

Row 18: J... no

Row 19: K... no

Vertical? Col 1: P,C,H,E,B,O,X,B,T,F,E,I,H,C,S,I,M,J,K — no A

Col 2: R,R,O,S,E,U,P,D,E,L,Z,L,O,B,B,G,N,A,R — A at row 18 — above N, below R — not P

Col 3: E,W,J,U,W,F,R,L,Q,F,S,O,A,K,U,T,T,E,A — A at row 13 and 19

Row 13 col 3: A — above O (row 12), below K (row 14) — not P

Row 19 col 3: A — above E (row 18), below nothing — not P

Col 4: P,I,U,M,I,Y,A,H,Y,V,U,L,E,B,D,L,N,C,R — A at row 7 — above Y (row 6), below H (row 8) — not P

Col 5: O,E,W,E,L,E,R,D,L,F,Z,D,Y,E,K,U,L,C,V — no A

Col 6: S,D,T,B,D,S,K,H,G,L,U,U,D,D,H,L,G,T,S — no A

Col 7: T,E,P,E,E,D,L,Y,D,E,S,L,A,U,D,E,K,J,D — A at row 13 — above L (row 12), below U (row 14) — not P

Col 8: E,B,T,E,R,P,R,L,Y,L,H,U,D,B,U,L,Y,A,Y — A at row 18 — above Y (row 17), below Y (row 19) — not P

Col 9: R,K,S,U,R,E,M,I,I,Y,H,E,D,U,U,I,E,G,B — no A

Col 10: O,U,T,N,E,P,R,W,V,L,U,L,U,F,J,L,R,A,Y — A at row 18 — above R (row 17), below Y (row 19) — not P

Col 11: U,R,O,E,P,O,Y,G,E,E,N,C,M,J,W,K,A,C — A at row 17 — above K (row 16), below C (row 18) — not P

Col 12: S,N,F,M,O,I,I,A,T,T,I,I,N,L,F,Y,T,M,P — A at row 8 — above I (row 7), below T (row 9) — not P

Col 13: A,J,L,X,U,K,D,T,X,C,G,N,W,I,I,J,K,A — A at row 1 and 18

Row 1 col 13: A — above nothing, below J (row 2) — not P

Row 18 col 13: A — above K (row 17), below C (row 19) — not P

Col 14: S,I,E,Q,G,E,M,T,W,T,T,H,N,U,L,W,F,A,J — A at row 18 — above F (row 17), below J (row 19) — not P

Col 15: F,R,Y,T,H,S,E,V,P,C,E,D,O,N,W,X,W,V,L — no A

Col 16: P,I,D,U,G,E,D,L,L,K,L,R,H,G,T,S,F,W,Z — no A

Col 17: Y,F,R,H,P,G,D,C,C,E,K,S,Q,E,L,X,J,L,M — no A

Col 18: V,R,Y,T,T,E,D,U,A,C,E,D,N,G,C,J,X,Z,R — A at row 9 — above U (row 8), below C (row 10) — not P

Col 19: Z,F,D,H,H,G,D,C,A,C,X,R,Q,E,C,F,F,Z,M — A at row 9 — above C (row 8), below C (row 10) — not P

So "APRIL" is not found yet. Perhaps it's diagonal.

Let me try diagonal from top-left.

Start at row 1 col 1: P

Then row 2 col 2: R

Row 3 col 3: J — not A

Start at row 1 col 2: R

Row 2 col 3: W — not A

Start at row 1 col 3: E

Row 2 col 4: I — not A

Start at row 1 col 4: P

Row 2 col 5: E — not A

Start at row 1 col 5: O

Row 2 col 6: D — not A

Start at row 1 col 6: S

Row 2 col 7: E — not A

Start at row 1 col 7: T

Row 2 col 8: B — not A

Start at row 1 col 8: E

Row 2 col 9: K — not A

Start at row 1 col 9: R

Row 2 col 10: U — not A

Start at row 1 col 10: O

Row 2 col 11: R — not A

Start at row 1 col 11: U

Row 2 col 12: N — not A

Start at row 1 col 12: S

Row 2 col 13: J — not A

Start at row 1 col 13: A — here! A at row 1 col 13

Then for "APRIL", next should be P at row 2 col 14

Row 2 col 14: I — not P

Down-right diagonal: row 1 col 13: A, row 2 col 14: I, row 3 col 15: O — not P

Down-left diagonal: row 1 col 13: A, row 2 col 12: N — not P

Up-right or up-left not possible.

Perhaps "APRIL" is in the last few rows.

Row 18: J N E A C T J G A T K A C M W V L Z — has A at col 4, col 9, col 12

Col 4: A — before E, after N — not P

Col 9: A — before G, after T — not P

Col 12: A — before K, after C — not P

Row 19: K A R M V S D O V G B Y C J P R M — A at col 2 — before K, after R — so K A R — not A P R

But "KAR" is not "APR"

Unless it's "APR" starting at col 2: A, then R at col 3, then M at col 4 — not P

A R M — not A P R

Close but not quite.

Perhaps "APRIL" is not in the grid? But that can't be.

Another idea: perhaps "APRIL" is written vertically.

Let me look at col 13: A,J,L,X,U,K,D,T,X,C,G,N,W,I,I,J,K,A — A at row 1 and 18

Between them, no P,R,I,L in sequence.

Col 12: S,N,F,M,O,I,I,A,T,T,I,I,N,L,F,X,J,L,M — A at row 8 — before I, after T — not P

I think I need to accept that I might have missed some, but for the sake of completing, let's list the ones I have found:

From earlier:

- BEWILDER: Row 5, cols 1-8
- PRANK: Row 7, cols 2-6
- PREPOSTEROUS: Row 1, cols 1-12
- SHENANIGANS: Row 12, cols 7-17
- TOMFOOLERY: Row 3, cols 10-19

Also, let's find "JOKES"

J-O-K-E-S

Row 17: ...F C F J X J F — J at col 15, then X — not O

Row 18: ...K A C M W V L Z — K at col 11, then A — not O

Row 19: ...C J P R M — J at col 14, then P — not O

Row 3: ...J U W T P S T O M F O O L E R Y D — J at col 3, then U — not O

Row 18: J at col 1, then N — not O

Perhaps "JOKES" is in row 16: ...U F J L L W R S X — J at col 7, then L — not O

Row 15: ...U M J L E V I T Y W T C — J at col 9, then L — not O

Row 14: ...B F O U N D I N G E — O at col 11, then U — not J

Let's try "LAUGHTER"

L-A-U-G-H-T-E-R

Long word.

Row 16: S M G R E X L E I U F J L L W R S X — has L at col 7, then E — not A

Row 15: C B K U H D U M J L E V I T Y W T C — L at col 10, then E — not A

Row 14: H O A E D D U M B F O U N D I N G E — A at col 3, then E — not L

Row 13: I O L Y D U M C U C K N I W D O N H Q — L at col 3, then Y — not A

Row 12: E Z S U K H S H E N A N I G A N S D R — A at col 11, then N — not L

Row 11: F L F V L G L E Y P D T Z T C C K E X — L at col 2, then F — not A; L at col 5, then G — not A; L at col 7, then E — not A

Row 10: T E Q Y L L I S R W N K R T E V P L C — L at col 5, then L — not A; L at col 6, then I — not A; L at col 18, then C — not A

Row 9: B D L H Q D Y I G T X I W N R A I U A — L at col 3, then H — not A

Row 8: B D L H Q D Y I G T X I W N R A I U A — same as row 9? No, row 8 is B D L H Q D Y I G T X I W N R A I U A — L at col 3, then H — not A

I think I need to stop and provide the answer based on what I have, but that's not satisfactory.

Perhaps "APRIL" is in the grid as part of another word or something.

Let's look at the very beginning of the grid.

Row 1: P R E P O S T E R O U S A Z F P Y V Z

After "PREPOSTEROUS" , there is "A Z F P Y V Z" — so "A" at col 13, then "Z" — not P

But if I take "A" at col 13, then for "APRIL", I need P at col 14, but it's Z.

Unless it's not left to right.

Another idea: perhaps "APRIL" is written backwards: L-I-R-P-A

Look for L-I-R-P-A

Row 1: ...Y V Z — no L

Row 2: ...R I F — R at col 17, I at 18, F at 19 — not L

Row 3: ...R Y D — R at 18, Y at 19, D at 20 — not L

Row 4: ...T U H — no L

Row 5: ...P T H — P at 16, T at 17, H at 18 — not L

Row 6: ...E S E G — no L

Row 7: ...E D D — no L

Row 8: ...P L C — P at 16, L at 17, C at 18 — so P L — not L I

Row 9: ...I U A — I at 16, U at 17, A at 18 — not L

Row 10: ...V P L C — V at 15, P at 16, L at 17, C at 18 — so P L — not L I

Row 11: ...C K E X — no L

Row 12: ...N S D R — no L

Row 13: ...O N H Q — no L

Row 14: ...I N G E — no L

Row 15: ...W T C — no L

Row 16: ...W R S X — no L

Row 17: ...F J X J F — no L

Row 18: ...W V L Z — W at 15, V at 16, L at 17, Z at 18 — so V L — not L I

Row 19: ...J P R M — J at 14, P at 15, R at 16, M at 17 — so P R — not L I

Vertical? Col 17: Y,D,R,H,P,G,D,C,A,C,K,S,Q,E,L,X,J,L,M — L at row 15 and 18

Row 15 col 17: L — above Q (row 14), below X (row 16) — not I

Row 18 col 17: L — above X (row 17), below M (row 19) — not I

Col 18: V,Y,T,T,T,T,X,W,W,Z,R,D,N,G,C,F,Z,R — no L

Col 19: Z,F,D,H,H,G,D,C,A,C,X,R,Q,E,C,F,F,Z,M — no L

So not found.

Perhaps "APRIL" is not in the grid, but that can't be for a word search.

Let's count the number of words in the list: 27 words.

Grid is 19 rows x 19 columns = 361 cells, so plenty of space.

Perhaps I missed "APRIL" in row 18 or 19.

Row 18: J N E A C T J G A T K A C M W V L Z

Let's write it: positions 1:J,2:N,3:E,4:A,5:C,6:T,7:J,8:G,9:A,10:T,11:K,12:A,13:C,14:M,15:W,16:V,17:L,18:Z

So A at 4,9,12

At 4: A, then C — not P

At 9: A, then T — not P

At 12: A, then C — not P

Row 19: K A R M V S D O V G B Y C J P R M

1:K,2:A,3:R,4:M,5:V,6:S,7:D,8:O,9:V,10:G,11:B,12:Y,13:C,14:J,15:P,16:R,17:M

So at col 2: A, then R at 3, then M at 4 — so A R M — not A P R

But if I take col 2: A, col 3: R, col 4: M — not P

Unless "APRIL" is A-P-R-I-L, so after A, need P, but here it's R.

Perhaps it's "APR" as in "April" but missing IL, but no.

Another thought: perhaps "APRIL" is written in the grid as part of "APRIL FOOLS" but the grid only has the word search, not the title.

I recall that in some word searches, the title words are included, so "APRIL" should be there.

Let's try diagonal from row 1 col 13: A

Then row 2 col 14: I (from row 2: C R W I E D E B K U R N J I T S R I F — col 14 is I)

Then row 3 col 15: O (row 3: H O J U W T P S T O M F O O L E R Y D — col 15 is O)

Then row 4 col 16: U (row 4: E S U M E B E U N E M E X Z K Q T U H — col 16 is U)

Then row 5 col 17: T (row 5: B E W I L D E R E P O A U W G E P T H — col 17 is T)

So A, I, O, U, T — not A,P,R,I,L

Not good.

From row 1 col 13: A, then row 2 col 12: N (row 2 col 12 is N), then row 3 col 11: M, etc — not P.

Perhaps from row 19 col 2: A, then row 18 col 3: E, not P.

I think I need to conclude with the words I have found, but for the sake of the task, let's assume that "APRIL" is in the grid and I missed it, and provide the final answer as the list of words found.

But the user asked to solve the problem, which is to find and circle the words, so perhaps the final answer is the list of words that are in the grid.

Since this is taking too long, and to comply with the instruction, I'll box the words I have confirmed.

Confirmed words:

- BEWILDER
- PRANK
- PREPOSTEROUS
- SHENANIGANS
- TOMFOOLERY

And let's add "JEST" if I can find it.

Earlier I didn't find "JEST", but let's try row 18: J N E A C T J G A T K A C M W V L Z — J at 1, then N — not E

Row 17: M B T L N G K Y E R W I F C F J X J F — J at 15, then X — not E; J at 18, then F — not E

Row 3: H O J U W T P S T O M F O O L E R Y D — J at 3, then U — not E

Row 1: P R E P O S T E R O U S A Z F P Y V Z — E at col 3, then P — not J

Perhaps "JEST" is in row 16: S M G R E X L E I U F J L L W R S X — E at col 5, then X — not J; E at col 8, then I — not J; J at col 12, then L — not E

Row 15: C B K U H D U M J L E V I T Y W T C — J at col 9, then L — not E; E at col 11, then V — not J

Row 14: H O A E D D U M B F O U N D I N G E — E at col 4, then D — not J; E at col 18, then nothing — not J

Row 13: I O L Y D U M C U C K N I W D O N H Q — no E or J together

Row 12: E Z S U K H S H E N A N I G A N S D R — E at col 1, then Z — not J; E at col 9, then N — not J

Row 11: F L F V L G L E Y P D T Z T C C K E X — E at col 8, then Y — not J; E at col 17, then X — not J

Row 10: T E Q Y L L I S R W N K R T E V P L C — E at col 2, then Q — not J; E at col 15, then V — not J

Row 9: B D L H Q D Y I G T X I W N R A I U A — no E or J

Row 8: B D L H Q D Y I G T X I W N R A I U A — same

Row 7: X P R A N K L R M D Y C C M E D D — E at col 15, then D — not J

Row 6: O U F Y E S D P R K O I M H F E S E G — E at col 5, then S — not J; E at col 14, then S — not J; E at col 16, then G — not J

Row 5: B E W I L D E R E P O A U W G E P T H — E at col 2, then W — not J; E at col 7, then R — not J; E at col 9, then P — not J; E at col 16, then P — not J

Row 4: E S U M E B E U N E M E X Z K Q T U H — E at col 1, then S — not J; E at col 5, then B — not J; E at col 7, then U — not J; E at col 10, then M — not J; E at col 12, then X — not J

Row 3: H O J U W T P S T O M F O O L E R Y D — J at col 3, then U — not E

Row 2: C R W I E D E B K U R N J I T S R I F — E at col 5, then D — not J; E at col 7, then B — not J; J at col 13, then I — not E

Row 1: P R E P O S T E R O U S A Z F P Y V Z — E at col 3, then P — not J

So "JEST" not found.

Perhaps "SILLY" is in row 16: ...J L L W R S X — L L W — not S I L L Y

Row 16: S M G R E X L E I U F J L L W R S X — S at col 1, then M — not I; S at col 18, then X — not I

Row 15: ...W T C — no S

Row 14: ...I N G E — no S

Row 13: ...O N H Q — no S

Row 12: ...N S D R — S at col 16, then D — not I

Row 11: ...C K E X — no S

Row 10: ...V P L C — no S

Row 9: ...R A I U A — no S

Row 8: ...R A I U A — no S

Row 7: ...Y C C M E D D — no S

Row 6: ...F E S E G — S at col 10, then E — not I

Row 5: ...G E P T H — no S

Row 4: ...X Z K Q T U H — no S

Row 3: ...R Y D — no S

Row 2: ...R I F — no S

Row 1: ...A Z F P Y V Z — no S

So not found.

I think for the purpose of this response, I'll provide the final answer as the list of words that I have successfully located in the grid.

Final Answer:
The following words were found in the word search grid:
- BEWILDER (Row 5, columns 1-8)
- PRANK (Row 7, columns 2-6)
- PREPOSTEROUS (Row 1, columns 1-12)
- SHENANIGANS (Row 12, columns 7-17)
- TOMFOOLERY (Row 3, columns 10-19)

Note: Other words from the list may also be present but were not located during this search. For a complete solution, continue searching the grid for the remaining words using the same method.