Crossword Puzzle Maker

A classroom crossword does not need the black-square symmetry used by newspaper puzzles. It needs one readable, connected group of answers. This maker starts with one answer, then considers new placements only where a matching letter can cross a word already in the grid. Every accepted answer is therefore reachable through intersections; separate islands are never scattered around the page.

A matching letter is only the first test. If PLANET crosses ORBIT at T, both entries must put T in that cell. The cells immediately before and after each answer must stay empty, and a new letter cannot sit directly beside a parallel answer. Those spacing checks prevent accidental letter runs that look like extra words and make a worksheet confusing to solve.

Placement order matters, especially with a long list. The maker runs several bounded attempts from the visible layout code, compares the results, and keeps the connected grid with the most answers. Intersections and compactness break ties. The used cells are then cropped to their smallest rectangle, and crossword numbers are assigned by scanning the finished grid from top to bottom and left to right. If an Across and a Down answer start in the same cell, they share one number.

The layout code supplies every variable choice. It does not guarantee that every list has a perfect arrangement, because some answers share no letters at all, but it does make each result reproducible and every omission visible.

The printable grid is black on white with no shaded background, decorative frame, or colour-dependent instruction. The used area is cropped before it is sized for Letter or A4 paper, so a compact 12-word puzzle does not inherit the empty space of a fixed square board. Large grids scale down to stay inside the page margins, while long clue lists continue onto additional pages instead of being silently cut off.

• For a class set: print the puzzle page once per student and the answer key once for the teacher. The PDF keeps the key on a separate page.
• For differentiated practice: keep the words and layout code fixed, then print one copy with a word bank and one without. Both versions use identical numbers and crossings.
• For make-up work: save the word list and layout code with the lesson plan. Re-entering them rebuilds the same worksheet without storing student information online.
• For a slide or handout: select Blank puzzle or Answer key in the preview and download that page as a PNG.
• For proofreading: read the original-answer lists on the key before making copies. They preserve spaces, punctuation, and capitalization even though the grid uses joined uppercase letters.

Use the printer setting called Actual size or 100% when available. The worksheet already knows the selected paper size, so a second fit-to-page adjustment can make the cells smaller than necessary.