How to Create a Crossword

Building your own crossword puzzle only takes a few steps:

1. Write your words and clues. Enter one word per line, followed by a colon and its clue, in the generator's text box.
2. Choose classic or audio mode. Pick a classic crossword solved with clues, or an audio crossword solved by listening to each word.
3. Optimize the layout. Click Optimize to let the generator rearrange the grid into a more compact puzzle with more intersections between words.
4. Generate and share your puzzle. Click Create to generate the puzzle and share it online, or click Print to open the print preview, where you can set a title, a header, and whether to include the solution, then get it ready for your activity.

You can also let AI help you with the words and clues. Just enter a topic and how many words you want.

Want to explore other games? Check out our other generators here.

AI Crossword Generator

Not sure which words and clues to use? Let artificial intelligence build the puzzle for you.

Click Generate with AI, type a topic, for example "world capitals," "famous inventors," "kitchen utensils," or "dinosaurs," and specify how many words you want. The AI will write a list of words with matching clues (or just the words, for an audio crossword) that you can edit before creating your puzzle.

This comes in handy when you need to put together an educational activity quickly and don't want to write every clue by hand.

Classic or Audio Crossword

The Classic mode is the traditional crossword: each numbered square is tied to a clue, and solvers use the clues to fill in the grid.

Want to try something different? Switch to Audio mode, and instead of clues, each word is read aloud. Solvers listen carefully and spell what they hear into the grid.

An audio crossword is a fun twist on the classic format, and it also makes the puzzle accessible to people with visual impairments, since it can be solved by ear.

Optimize the Crossword Layout

After you generate a puzzle, click Optimize to improve how the words are arranged. The words themselves stay the same, but the generator tries to fit them together more tightly, aiming for more intersections between words and a more compact grid with less empty space.

It's worth trying a couple of times, since each optimization pass can produce a different layout.

Create a Crossword With Your Own Words and Clues

You can also build a fully custom crossword. Enter each word followed by a colon and its clue, one per line (or just the words if you're building an audio crossword), and the generator will fit them into the grid.

You can create activities with:

• language vocabulary
• animal names
• countries and cities
• science concepts
• historical figures
• terms tied to a reading assignment
• trivia for a party or event
• any other topic you can think of

The generator can also keep special letters, so accented characters and letters from other languages carry over correctly if your words are not in English.

Printable Crossword Puzzles

A crossword can also be turned into a worksheet for the classroom, for home, or for a special activity in just a few clicks.

Use the print preview to set the Title and Header, and choose whether the solution prints on a 2nd Page, in the Footer, or not at all. That way you can prepare both the activity and an answer sheet without designing anything by hand.

If you need several activities on different topics, you can generate each one with its own word list.

Ideas for Using a Crossword Puzzle

For Teachers

Create activities tied directly to the subject you're teaching. A vocabulary list from a lesson unit can quickly become a review puzzle, with the answer sheet ready to print alongside it.

For Language Learners

Use new words in English, Spanish, French, German, or any other language you're practicing. Working out each answer from its clue helps you get familiar with vocabulary, and switching to the audio puzzle turns the same word list into listening and spelling practice.

For Kids

Pick simple words and short, direct clues to create a puzzle suited for younger children. To raise the difficulty, use longer words and more descriptive clues.

For Families and Activities

Create a themed crossword for a party, a trip, a celebration, or a game night.

Why Use Oh, my Dots!?

Oh, my Dots! is built to take you from an idea to a finished puzzle without having to design anything by hand.

• Write your own words and clues. You decide exactly what shows up in the grid.
• Generate words and clues with AI. Enter a topic and let AI help you write the whole puzzle.
• Choose classic or audio mode. Solve with clues, or listen and spell the words instead.
• Optimize the layout. Let the generator rearrange the grid into a tighter, more compact puzzle with more intersections.
• Control your print options. Set a title, header, and where the solution appears.
• Get it ready to print. Use the preview to generate an activity that's ready to print.

Tips for Building a Good Crossword

For an easy puzzle, use short, familiar words and write clues that point clearly to the answer.

For a harder puzzle, use longer or less common words, write clues that require more thought, and try the audio mode for an extra challenge.

After generating your words and clues, click Optimize a few times to see if the generator can arrange them into a tighter grid with more intersections. A good balance between the number of words, their length, and how they interlock will make the puzzle satisfying to solve without feeling impossible.

Frequently Asked Questions