Type your own words and clues, or pick a ready set, and the crossword maker joins the words into a crossword grid where they cross on shared letters, numbers the squares, lists the clues under Across and Down and adds an answer page.
Class set
One copy for every student: type the first names and get one PDF, with each name on that student's own pages. Every student's pages use the same settings.
Link to this page
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This is the sheet as it prints. Change any option and it updates.
How the words are joined into a grid
The longest word goes in first. Each word after it is placed only where it crosses a word already in the grid on the same letter, and only where it does not touch another word along its length, so every row or column of two or more letters in the grid is one of the words typed. A word that cannot be joined is named in the message above the sheet with the reason: it shares no letter with the words in the grid, or every place it could cross is blocked. Layout 1, 2 and 3 try the words in different orders. The same words with the same layout always make the same grid, so a puzzle printed again still matches its answer page. Squares are numbered row by row from the top left, as in a newspaper crossword.
Three examples
The Animals set: ten words, each clue followed by its letter count.
The Space set in Layout 2, with a word bank under the grid.
The Weather set in Layout 3 on A4 paper, letter counts hidden.
Ready-made crosswords
Three crosswords made by the maker above from its built-in sets, each with its answer page, to print in one tap.
The human body Ten words about the body, Layout 2.Download the PDF
Space Ten space words, Layout 1, with a word bank.Download the PDF
Questions and answers
How do I type my own words and clues?
Choose My own words and clues, then type a word, a colon and its clue, and start a new line for the next word, for example owl: A bird that hunts at night. An equals sign, a tab, or a dash with a space on each side also works in place of the colon. Use 3 to 16 words of 3 to 12 letters, letters only and no spaces; an accented letter is printed without its accent.
Why was one of my words left out of the crossword?
A word can go in only where it crosses another word on a letter they share, without touching a third word. If none of its letters is in the words already placed, or every crossing would bump into another word or make the grid wider than 15 squares, it is left out and the message above the sheet names it. Trying Layout 2 or 3, or adding a word that shares letters with it, often finds it a place.
Will the answer page match the puzzle if I print it again later?
Yes. The grid is worked out from the words and the layout number alone, so the same words with the same layout give the same grid every time, and the answer page is drawn from that same grid. Changing a clue does not move the grid; changing a word or the layout does.
Can each student get a copy with a name on it?
Yes. In the class set box below the form, type the first names; the PDF has one copy of the same crossword for each name, written on the Name line, with the answer page after each copy if it is switched on.
Are the words and clues I type saved?
No. They travel inside the request that draws the sheet and are dropped once it is drawn. They are not put in the page address, not written to the server's logs or database, and not kept in this browser.
