Crossword Generator – Make a Crossword from Your Own Words and Clues
Enter one “answer:clue” pair per line and press “Generate puzzle”. The tool interlocks your words into a crossword grid and lists numbered Across and Down clues, with an answer key on request and PNG or print output. Great for classroom worksheets, quizzes and party games. If you only want to hide words without clues, try the Word Search Generator.
🔒 Runs in your browser · Your data is never sent to a server
How to use
- Enter one "answer:clue" pair per line in "Answers and clues" (answers of 2 to 20 letters, up to 30 words).
- Press "Generate puzzle" to see the interlocked grid and the list of clues.
- Tick "Show answer" to fill in the letters of every answer.
- Use "Save as PNG" to download an image or "Print" to print it. Whatever is shown, including the answers if they are on, is what gets saved or printed.
Notes
- Generating the puzzle, computing the answers and creating the image all happen in your browser. Your words and clues are never sent to a server.
- Enter one entry per line. The answer and the clue are separated at the first colon, comma or tab. The clue is optional and is limited to 100 characters. Spaces are removed from answers and letters are converted to upper case.
- Answers must be 2 to 20 letters and there can be up to 30 of them. Anything outside that range and everything past the 30th word is skipped.
- Words are interlocked where they share a letter. A word that has no letter in common with any other word cannot be placed; it is named in the message shown after generation.
- Every press of "Generate puzzle" makes a different layout and the same puzzle cannot be recreated later, so save it as a PNG or print it if you want to keep it.
- Accented letters and other characters each use one cell.
- If the same answer is entered twice, only the first clue is used.
Glossary
Crossword
A puzzle in which you work out words from clues and write them across and down so that they interlock. A cell where two words cross holds one letter shared by both.
Across / Down clues
The numbered hints that tell you what to write. An Across clue refers to a word that reads left to right, a Down clue to a word that reads top to bottom, starting at the numbered cell.
Interlocking
Two words sharing one cell where an across word and a down word cross. A crossword generator places every word so that it crosses at least one other word.
FAQ
How do I enter answers and clues?
Enter one entry per line as "answer:clue". The first colon, comma or tab separates the two. If you leave the clue out, only the answer is used on the grid. Example: "CAT:A pet that meows".
Why were some words not placed?
A crossword interlocks words at shared letters, so a word that has no letter in common with any other word cannot be placed. Add words that share letters with it, or replace it. Words that could not be placed are named in the message shown after generation.
How do I print a worksheet and an answer key?
Print with "Show answer" off, then tick it and print again to get the answer key of the same puzzle. Do not press "Generate puzzle" between the two prints, because that creates a different layout.
Can I choose the grid size?
The grid size is decided from the number and length of your words. The tool tries many layouts and keeps the one that places the most words in the smallest area. To change the size, add or remove words or make them longer or shorter.
Can I use words in Japanese or other languages?
Yes. Latin letters, hiragana, katakana, kanji and other characters all work, with one character per cell. Letters are converted to upper case and full-width letters to half-width. Words interlock best when they share many letters.
Share this page