Crossword Puzzle Maker
Turn your words and clues into a numbered crossword with Across and Down clues, a word bank and an answer key PDF.
Ready-made lists
3–20 words, 2–15 letters each. Answers use the letters A–Z; spaces and hyphens in an answer like Bill of Rights are left out of the grid.
One PDF: the puzzle with its clues, then the answer key. A big grid with long clues gets its clues on a page of their own.
Weather & Water Cycle
10 words · 15 × 12 squares
Across
3.A prediction of what the weather will be
7.Water turning into vapor as the sun heats it
9.A floating mass of tiny water drops in the sky
10.Rain, snow, sleet or hail falling from clouds
Down
1.A tool that measures temperature
2.A long time with little or no rain
4.An arc of colors when sunlight shines through raindrops
5.Water vapor cooling into tiny drops that form clouds
6.A spinning funnel of wind that touches the ground
8.How much water vapor is in the air
Print preview · Student pages
Free Crossword Puzzle Maker for Teachers
A crossword asks students to read a clue, recall the right word and spell it correctly, because every crossing letter has to agree with another answer. This free crossword maker turns your own vocabulary list into a numbered puzzle. Type each word with its clue, and the generator crosses the words into one connected grid, numbers the squares the standard way and writes the Across and Down clue lists for you. Print a PDF with the puzzle and an answer key, or open the puzzle on the board and let the class solve it together, typing letters into the squares and pressing Check.
Make a crossword in 3 steps
Add your words and clues. Type one answer per line with its clue after a dash (“cloud - Floats in the sky”), from 3 to 20 words, or tap a ready-made list: Weather & Water Cycle, Parts of Speech or US Government.
Check the layout. The grid, numbers and clue lists appear right away. Press New Layout for a different arrangement of the same words, and turn on Letter counts to add (5) or (3, 5) after each clue.
Print or solve together. Download Printable PDF Set saves the student puzzle and the answer key in A4 or US Letter, with an optional Word Bank. Or turn on Solve on screen and open Classroom Presentation Mode to fill in the squares as a class.
Ways to use the Crossword Puzzle Maker in class
End-of-unit vocabulary review
Paste the key terms from a science or social studies unit with a short definition as each clue. Students have to recall the word from its meaning and spell it so the crossing letters agree, which makes a quick review before a test or a sub-plan activity.
Two levels from one list
Download one PDF with the Word Bank on for students who need support, then turn it off and download again for students who are ready to recall the words on their own. Turning on Letter counts adds one more hint without changing the puzzle.
Solve it together on the board
Turn on Solve on screen and open Classroom Presentation Mode. Tap a clue or a square, let students suggest the answer and type it in, then press Check to see how many words are correct. Wrong letters turn red so the class can rethink them.
A fresh puzzle for a retake
Press New Layout to rearrange the same words into a different grid with new numbers. It works well for a second class period or a retake, since the clues stay the same but the puzzle looks new.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this crossword maker free?
Yes. It’s free with no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many puzzles you make. Print and copy them for your classroom, homeschool or tutoring sessions.
Does it make an answer key?
Yes. Every PDF ends with a teacher answer key that shows the same grid with every answer written into the squares. On screen, the Show answers switch fills in the grid and adds each answer to its clue.
Can I use answers with two words or a hyphen?
Yes. Spaces, hyphens and apostrophes are left out of the grid, so “ice cream” goes in as ICECREAM, and the tool lists every answer it joined. Turn on Letter counts to print (3, 5) after the clue so students know where the words break. Answers can only use the letters A to Z.
How many words can a crossword have?
Between 3 and 20 words, each 2 to 15 letters long, and the grid stays within 20 by 20 squares. If a word can’t cross into the layout, the tool names it so you can press New Layout or swap in a word that shares more letters with the rest.
Will the puzzle fit on one page?
Usually, yes: the grid, the Across and Down clues and the optional Word Bank share the student page, and the squares are sized to fill the space. If a large grid has many long clues, the clues move to a second page so the squares stay big enough to write in. The answer key follows on its own page.
Does the tool save my word list?
Yes. Your title, words, clues, options and current layout are saved in this browser, so the same puzzle is still there when you come back. Nothing is uploaded, and you can copy everything to another computer with a backup file from the Backup page.