Free Printable Venn Diagram Templates

About these venn diagram handouts

A Venn diagram uses overlapping circles to show what two or three things share and what sets them apart. Whatever sits in the overlap belongs to both; whatever sits outside belongs to one. John Venn, an English logician, published the diagrams in 1880, and teachers have used them for comparing ever since.

The two-circle version is the classic for comparing two characters, two animals, two historical figures or two number sets. The three-circle version asks for more careful thinking, because there are seven regions and students have to decide which items belong in all three. The lined version has writing lines drawn inside each region, so students can write phrases and short sentences without squeezing text into a blank circle. The word-bank version starts with twelve empty boxes: you or the students fill the bank, then sort each word into the right region, which turns the diagram into a sorting and vocabulary task.

In reading, compare two versions of a fairy tale or two main characters. In math, sort numbers by factors or shapes by properties. In science, compare habitats, states of matter or two planets. In social studies, compare communities or two time periods. Type a heading in the Comparing box to print it at the top.

How to use them

1. Pick the number of circles and whether you want lines or a word bank.
2. Type what is being compared into the Comparing box.
3. Students write the names of the things on the label lines above or below the circles.
4. Fill the outer parts first with what is different, then ask what they have in common for the middle.
5. Finish with the sentence at the bottom or ask for a spoken summary of the biggest similarity.

Classroom tips

• Have students fill the middle section first when comparing very different things; the shared ideas are often the harder ones to find.
• Use two colors of pencil, one per circle, so an overlap item in both colors proves it belongs to both.
• Give early writers the word-bank version and pictures in the boxes before they write.
• Enlarge to 11 by 17 for a shared class diagram on the wall.

Where the facts come from

• Linda Hall Library: John Venn published his diagrams in 1880

Last reviewed 2026-10-03. Handout Hero designs are original and made for this site. They are general reference material; check your own school, district or tradition where it matters.