How to make a crossword puzzle
- Write your words and clues, one pair per line with a dash between them: Mars - The red planet. A colon, an equals sign or a tab works as well, so two columns copied from Excel, Google Sheets or a table in a document paste straight in. If the clue is in the first column, tick Clues come first.
- Check the preview. The maker builds the grid as you type and shows the exact pages of the PDF: the puzzle with its numbered clues, then the answer key. The line under the word box says how many words went in and how big the grid is.
- Not happy with the shape? New layout builds a different grid from the same words. Each grid has a layout code, printed at the foot of the page; type a code into Layout code to get that exact grid back later.
- Choose what goes on the page: large print, a word bank, letter counts after each clue, shaded empty squares, a name and date line and the answer key page. Pick US Letter or A4.
- Download the PDF and print it, or save the page on screen as a PNG image for a slide, a worksheet you are building elsewhere or a class website.
How the grid is built
The maker tries a few hundred arrangements of your words and keeps the best one: as many words as possible placed, as many crossings as possible, and the smallest, squarest grid. Every new word has to cross a word that is already there on a shared letter, so the puzzle hangs together as one piece. It also follows the rules every printed crossword follows: two answers never run side by side where their letters would make a stray two-letter "word", and an answer never runs straight into another one.
If a word can't cross the others, usually because it shares no letters with them, or only letters already used up at crossings, the page names it under the preview instead of quietly dropping it. Press Try 30 more layouts, or add one more word that shares letters with it. Answers can be short phrases: Ice cream goes in the grid as ICECREAM, and with letter counts on, its clue ends in (3,5) so solvers know it is two words. Accents are dropped in the grid, as in most crosswords: Café goes in as CAFE, so it can cross a plain E, while the word bank keeps your spelling.
Numbering, Across and Down
Squares are numbered the standard way. Reading the grid row by row from the top left, every square that starts an across answer or a down answer takes the next number. When one square starts both, the two clues share its number, so you may see 1 Across and 1 Down together. Clues are listed under Across and Down in number order, and long clues wrap onto a second line rather than shrinking.
By default only the letter squares are drawn, which saves ink and suits children's worksheets. Shade empty squares fills the gaps in black for the classic newspaper look.
Solving on screen
Play online turns the grid into squares you can type in. Tap a square or a clue to pick a word; the clue shows above the grid. Typing moves along the word, arrow keys move between squares, and tapping the current square again (or pressing Space) switches between across and down. Check answers crosses out wrong letters, and Reveal word fills in the current answer.
To send a puzzle to students, press Share result. The page first warns you that the link contains every answer and clue, because anyone who opens it can read them; then it copies a link that opens the puzzle ready to solve, with the word list hidden behind a button. A long list with long clues may not fit in a link: the page says so, and the PDF is the way to share it.
Tips for teachers
- Mix word lengths. Long words give the short ones something to cross. A list of only three-letter words makes a sparse grid.
- Write clues at the reading level of the class. For spelling lists, a definition or a sentence with a gap works well: We ___ to school every day (walk).
- Large print gives squares up to about 15 mm (0.6 in) across and bigger clues, roomy enough for young writers. Add the word bank so early readers can copy the spellings.
- Vocabulary review: paste the two columns of a glossary from your lesson slides or a spreadsheet, and the crossword is ready in seconds.
Printing and privacy
Print at 100% or Actual size for the cleanest squares; Fit to page also works, since every page keeps a margin of more than half an inch. The puzzle, the PDF and the PNG are made in your browser and nothing is uploaded. This browser remembers your last list and settings so you can pick up where you left off.
More for the classroom: hide the same vocabulary in a word search, make practice sheets with the math worksheet generator, or print bingo cards from the word list for a review game.