Vocabulary crossword puzzles
Hand-made puzzles and puzzles from our community. Solve them right here, print them, or make your own.
Vocabulary crosswords for teachers and learners
A vocabulary crossword is one of the simplest ways to practice new words. Each answer is a word from your list, and each clue is a definition, a translation, a sentence with a gap or a picture description.
Opposites Attract is easy and made for kids, with pairs such as cold and hot, small and big, and slow and fast. Spelling Bee Words is medium and asks for tricky spellings such as necessary, separate, embarrass, conscience and rhythm. SAT Vocabulary Words is hard and is aimed at high school students preparing for college entrance exams. It asks for ambiguous, benign, candid, ephemeral, laconic, pragmatic and tenacious, and every clue is a short definition.
For your own word list, for example a unit in a foreign language class, an English as a second language group or a science unit, type each word with its clue and the grid builds itself. Then print it with the answer key, or share a link so students can solve it on their own device. Ten to fifteen words are usually enough for a warm-up.
Tips for your own puzzle
- Use only words from your list, such as VERB, NOUN, ADJECTIVE and ADVERB, so every answer reviews something the class has learned.
- Clue with a translation: “Dog in Spanish” leads to PERRO, and “Cat in French” leads to CHAT.
- Write clues in a sentence with a gap: “The ___ shines at noon” for SUN gives the context that helps memory.