Crossword Puzzle Maker

Type your answers and clues, and the grid lays itself out. Print a blank crossword with numbered clues and a separate answer key, or let students solve it on screen.

Separate answer and clue with " - ", ":" or a tab. Up to 40 lines.

Let the helper write answers and clues

Type a topic and grade, and our AI helper fills in your list for you. Check it before printing.

How to make a crossword puzzle that works in class

  1. Write clues that test meaning. "Force that keeps planets in orbit" makes students recall gravity. "G _ _ _ _ _ Y" only tests spelling.
  2. Mix word lengths. Long answers are the spine of the grid; short ones fill the gaps. A list of only four-letter words rarely links up well.
  3. Try a few layouts. Each Generate click tries 60 arrangements and keeps the most compact one that fits the most words.
  4. Decide on a word bank. For younger students or English learners, a word bank turns the puzzle into a matching task; leave it off for a real recall test.

American or British style?

This maker builds a "free-form" crossword: words interlock where they share letters and the rest of the grid stays blank. That is the classroom style. Newspaper crosswords fill a symmetric square with black squares, which needs thousands of dictionary words and cannot be made from a 15-word vocabulary list.

How the crossword grid builds itself

A crossword generator is a search for shared letters. Each new word has to cross an existing word on a matching letter, run the other way, and not touch any other word side by side.

Start with the longest answer, PHOTOSYNTHESIS, laid down. Long words give later words the most letters to hook onto.

Word 1 of 7 · the key crossing letter is outlined

Questions teachers ask

How do I make a crossword puzzle?

Type each answer and its clue on a line, like "mercury - the planet closest to the sun". Press Generate and the maker finds a layout where every word crosses another at a shared letter. Print the blank puzzle and the answer key.

Why was a word left out of my crossword?

Every answer has to share a letter with the words already in the grid. A word made of rare letters (like "rhythm") may have no crossing point. Add a few more words, or press Generate again for a different layout.

How many words make a good classroom crossword?

Ten to twenty. Fewer than eight gives a sparse grid; more than twenty-five gets hard to print legibly on one page. Mix long and short answers so words have letters to cross on.

Can students solve it on screen?

Yes. Tick "Solve on screen" and students can type into the grid; correct letters turn green. It works on tablets and Chromebooks.

Can answers have two words?

Yes, but spaces are removed in the grid (ICE AGE becomes ICEAGE), as in newspaper crosswords. Add "(3,3)" to the clue to tell solvers the word lengths.

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