Crosswords and word scramblesYour words and clues
Crossword puzzle maker
A crossword built from your own words and clues. You type one entry per line, and the page lays out the grid, numbers the squares and prints the clues. It suits teachers, parents and anyone who wants a puzzle about a specific topic.
- Type your details or print blank
- Answer key on its own page
- Print or PDF, Letter or A4
- Free, no sign-up
On this page
Most crosswords you can print were written for a general audience. This one is written by you. Give it a list of words and a clue for each, and it builds a grid where the answers cross, so a unit vocabulary list, a set of spelling words or a family trivia round becomes a puzzle in a minute.
What prints
Page one holds the title, a one-line instruction ("Read each clue and write one letter in each box. The number tells you where the answer starts."), the empty grid, and two clue columns headed Across and Down. Only the squares that belong to an answer are drawn, so the grid has an irregular shape rather than a filled block. Each starting square carries a small number in its corner. Every clue is printed as its number, the clue text and the answer length in brackets, for example "4. A mountain that can erupt (7)".
The answer key is a separate page with the same grid, the letters filled in as bold colored capitals. If some of your words could not cross any other word, they are left out of the grid, and the key says how many in a small note at the bottom, such as "2 words would not fit and were left out."
The settings
- Title (optional): your own heading, 40 characters at most; blank gives "My Crossword".
- Theme: choose "My own words and clues" for this page. The same menu offers 30 ready-made themes, which are covered on the printable crossword puzzles page.
- One per line: WORD - clue: up to 1,500 characters. Put the word, a space, a hyphen, a space, then the clue. A colon or equals sign with spaces around it also works.
- Word bank: a toggle that prints the placed words in alphabetical order under the grid.
How entries are read
Letters only are kept, so spaces and hyphens inside a word are dropped. Words under three letters or over twelve are skipped, and the first twenty usable entries are used. A word typed twice is counted once. If you give a word with no clue, the clue prints as "(no clue given)", so write one for each line.
Long words cross more easily than short ones, and words that share letters make a tighter grid. Include a few words with common letters such as E, A and R. Press New puzzle to get a different layout from the same list; the layout is tried many times and the one that fits the most words is kept.
Worked example: a fifth grade earth science review
Mr. Dang types ten lines into the box: "volcano - A mountain that can erupt", "magnet - It pulls iron toward it", "planet - Earth is one", "fossil - Remains of an ancient living thing", and six more. He sets the title to "Earth Science Review" and turns the word bank on, because some students will need the support.
The grid comes out with nine of the ten words placed. The answer key page notes that one word was left out, so he edits that line to share more letters with the rest, presses New puzzle, and gets all ten. He prints the first page for students and keeps the key. For a spelling-focused version, the spelling practice worksheet pairs well with the same word list. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Why clues matter
The Institute of Education Sciences practice guide on early reading stresses building word knowledge through repeated, varied exposure. Writing a clue forces you to pick the meaning you want practiced, and solving it makes the student recall that meaning and then spell the word. Keep clues short and specific, and avoid using the answer itself in the clue.