Crossword Puzzle Maker

How to use it

1. Type the answers and clues. One per line, the answer first: "Moon: It circles Earth about once a month". A tab, an equals sign or a dash with spaces around it works as well as a colon, so a list copied from a spreadsheet or a worksheet usually goes straight in, and numbers or bullets at the start of a line are ignored. Spaces, hyphens and apostrophes in an answer are left out of the grid.
2. Check the notes. Under the box, the maker lists any line it can't use (a one-letter answer, a repeat, a 61st answer) and any answer still waiting for a clue. Each note has a link that jumps to its line.
3. Look at the grid. The puzzle is rebuilt as you type. Every answer crosses at least one other, the squares are numbered in reading order, and the grid is trimmed to fit the answers. Press Shuffle for a different layout of the same words.
4. Print. Give it a title, choose Letter or A4, and decide on a word bank and the answer key. Download the PDF, or use Print for your browser's own print dialog.

Writing good clues

The clue is the puzzle; the grid only checks the answer. A good clue points to one answer, is written in the words your solvers know, and doesn't give the answer away. What that means changes with age.

• Kindergarten to second grade. Short, concrete clues about one thing: "It says moo" for COW, "You wear them on your feet" for SHOES. Fill-in-the-blank lines from a song or a book the class knows work well ("Twinkle, twinkle, little ___"). Keep answers to three to six letters and read the clues aloud together before anyone starts.
• Third to fifth grade. Definitions in plain language and sentences from the unit with the word blanked out: "Plants make food from sunlight in a process called ___" for PHOTOSYNTHESIS. Clues can start to ask for a little thinking, such as "The opposite of evaporation".
• Middle and high school. Glossary definitions, examples ("Iron, nickel and cobalt are attracted to one"), causes and effects, or the person behind an idea. Older students can handle clues that describe instead of define.
• Adults and parties. Trivia, shared memories and gentle wordplay. For a shower or a birthday, the best clues are about the guest of honour: "The city where they met", "Her first car".

Three checks catch most bad clues. Make the clue match the answer's form: a plural answer needs a plural clue, and a verb needs a clue that reads like a verb. Keep the answer and words built from it out of the clue ("Something magnetic" gives MAGNET away). And make sure no other answer in your list fits the same clue, so a solver who is right never has to rub it out.

How many words fit

The grid grows with the number and length of the answers. These are typical sizes for single words of three to nine letters; long words and phrases make a wider grid, and a list with many shared letters a tighter one.

Pages are for the puzzle with one-line clues on Letter paper; the answer key adds its own page. Long clues push the later ones onto the next page sooner.

The largest grid is 30 x 30, and an answer can be up to 30 letters long. With 50 or 60 long answers a few may not fit; the preview lists them so you can split the list into two puzzles.

Making it easier or harder

Easier. Tick "Add a word bank" and the answers print under the clues, so solvers only have to match them; this is the right setting for young children and language learners. Keep the word lengths on for phrases, use fewer and shorter answers, and write fill-in-the-blank clues from a text the class has just read. For the youngest solvers, add a hint to the clue itself, such as "starts with P".

Harder. Leave the word bank off, write definitions instead of fill-in-the-blank sentences, and use clues that describe rather than define. More answers mean a bigger grid with more crossings to work out. Because every answer crosses another, a solver who is stuck on one clue can still get letters from its neighbours, which keeps a hard puzzle fair.

Vocabulary review in the classroom

• From your word list. Paste the unit's vocabulary, one word per line, and press "Write clues for answers without one" in the AI box to draft a clue for each, then edit them to match how you taught each word.
• Recall, not recognition. A crossword clue gives the meaning and asks for the word, which is harder (and better practice) than spotting a word you have been shown. It suits the review lesson before a quiz.
• Spelling counts. A misspelled answer breaks the word that crosses it, so students find their own mistakes without a teacher pointing them out.
• Language classes. Write the clue in English and the answer in the language being learned, or the other way round. Accents stay in the grid.
• Two versions. Shuffle gives a new layout with the same clues; print one for each half of the room and keep both answer keys.

Crosswords for parties and holidays

A crossword about the people in the room gets a party talking. For a baby or bridal shower, write clues about the couple: where they met, the baby's due month, the honeymoon. For a milestone birthday, use the guest of honour's life: home town, first job, favourite holiday. For a holiday, start from the ready-made Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas crossword and add a few answers about your own family; it keeps children busy at the table while the meal is finished. Let guests work in pairs, and give a small prize (a sweet, first pick of dessert) to the first pair to finish.

Printing

The puzzle prints the way classroom crosswords look: only the answer squares are outlined, with the clue numbers in their corners, and the rest of the page stays white, which saves ink. Squares print up to about four tenths of an inch wide, roomy enough for young writers, and shrink a little when that keeps the puzzle on one page. When the clues need more room, they continue on the next page in two columns. The answer key always starts on a page of its own, with the grid filled in and every answer listed, so it can be printed separately.

The PDF is built from the built-in fonts, so it looks the same on every printer. If your clues use letters outside Western European languages, the Download PDF button says so; use Print instead, which uses your browser's fonts and follows the same layout of puzzle page first, then the key.