Crossword Puzzle Generator

How to Use the Crossword Puzzle Generator

1. 1. Enter answers and clues. Put one pair on each line, answer first: xylem - Tissue that carries water up the stem. A dash, colon or tab separates the two. Multi-word answers such as carbon dioxide run together in the grid, the way printed crosswords show them.
2. 2. Choose the options. Give the puzzle a title, keep the answer lengths after each clue — (5) or (6,7) — and decide whether students get a word bank and a name-and-date line.
3. 3. Generate, and regenerate if you like. Every click lays the words out afresh. If an answer could not be placed, the tool names it so you can try another layout or add a word that crosses it.
4. 4. Print the puzzle and the key separately. Print puzzle sends only the grid and clues to the printer. Print answer key prints the filled grid and every answer by number, so the key never ends up in the student copies.

How the Crossword Is Built

The generator works to the same rules a crossword setter does. The longest answer goes in first, across. Every answer after that has to cross a letter already in the grid, and a placement is legal only if no new letter sits side by side with another word — that would spell a word nobody clued — and nothing sits directly before or after the answer. Among the legal spots, it prefers the one with the most crossings, then the one that keeps the grid smallest.

It does not just take the first good spot. For each answer it tries the best few placements, backs up when a choice leads to a dead end, and starts over several times with the word order lightly shuffled, keeping the layout that places the most answers with the most crossings. An answer that shares no usable letter with the others cannot be crossed at all, so it is listed for you rather than forced into a corner of the grid.

How the squares are numbered

Numbers run in reading order — left to right, top to bottom. A square gets a number when an answer starts in it, and when an Across answer and a Down answer start in the same square they share that number. Here is one layout the generator produced for six plant words; flower, the longest, went in first.

    L
S E E D
T   A   R   P
E   F L O W E R
M       O   T
        T   A
        S   L

Seed and stem begin in the same square, so both are clue 2. Every word crosses at least one other, which makes the grid self-checking: a student who writes the wrong answer for 3 Down finds that 5 Across no longer fits.

Writing Good Crossword Clues for Class

• Use the definitions you taught. A classroom crossword is retrieval practice — students recalling a term from the meaning they met in the lesson — not a cryptic puzzle.
• Match the answer's form. A clue for evaporated should read like a past-tense verb ("Turned from liquid to gas"), and a plural answer needs a plural clue.
• Keep the answer out of the clue. A clue for photosynthesis that contains "synthesis" gives the game away.
• Mix clue types. Definitions, fill-in-the-blank sentences ("The ___ carries sugars down the stem") and examples ("Oak or maple, for one") test different kinds of recall.
• Differentiate with the options. A word bank and the answer lengths make the same puzzle easier; leave both off for students who are ready for a stretch.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make a crossword puzzle with my own words?

Type each answer and its clue on one line, such as "mitosis - Cell division that makes two identical cells", then click Generate crossword. The tool builds and numbers the grid and writes the Across and Down clue lists. Add a title and print the puzzle, then print the answer key separately.

Why didn't all of my words fit in the crossword?

An answer can only join the grid by crossing a letter that is already there without touching another word side by side. A word that shares no letters with the rest, or whose shared letters are all used up, has nowhere legal to go. Click Regenerate layout for a fresh arrangement, or add an answer that shares letters with the missing one.

Can crossword answers have spaces or hyphens?

Yes. Enter answers such as "carbon dioxide" or "self-esteem" as you would write them; the grid runs the letters together, as printed crosswords do. With answer lengths turned on, the clue shows the breaks — (6,7) or (4-6) — so students know where the spaces fall.

How many words should a classroom crossword have?

Ten to twenty answers suits most lessons: enough crossings to make the grid self-checking, short enough to finish in 15–20 minutes. The generator accepts up to 40 answers and keeps the grid within 25 squares each way so it still prints legibly.

Can I use accented letters or other alphabets?

Yes. Answers can use any alphabet — é, ñ and ü, Greek or Cyrillic letters — with one letter per square. Digits and symbols cannot go in a crossword answer, so those lines are skipped and listed.

Are my words and clues saved anywhere?

No. The puzzle is built in your browser and nothing is uploaded or stored, so refreshing the page clears it. Keep a copy of your word list if you plan to make the puzzle again.