The golden rule: one clue, one answer
A good clue leads the solver to one word and only one. "Animal" is a poor clue for ZEBRA because a hundred animals would do; "Striped horse of the African plains" is a good one. When a solver fills in a word that fits the clue and the letter count but is not your answer, the crossings will eventually tell them something is wrong, and they will feel cheated rather than clever.
Test every clue by asking: could a reasonable solver write a different word here? If yes, add a detail. Crossing letters help, but in a free-form crossword many squares are crossed only once, so each clue has to do more of the work than in a newspaper grid.
Match the answer's form
Clue and answer must be interchangeable in a sentence. That means:
- Same part of speech. A verb clue for a verb answer: "Glide on ice" → SKATE, not "Winter sport" → SKATE (that would be SKATING).
- Same number. A plural answer needs a plural clue: "Organs you breathe with" → LUNGS.
- Same tense. "Past tense of think" → THOUGHT.
Students notice these mismatches immediately, and they are the most common reason a homemade crossword feels "off".
Five kinds of clue
1. Definition
The workhorse of classroom crosswords: a short dictionary-style meaning. "Liquid turning into vapor" → EVAPORATION. Definitions turn the puzzle into vocabulary practice, because the student must connect the meaning to the term and then spell it.
2. Fill in the blank
A familiar phrase with the answer missing: "Twinkle, twinkle, little ___" → STAR. These are the easiest clues to solve and great for warming up or for young children. Use one or two per puzzle as "gimmes" that give solvers a foothold.
3. Description or fact
A fact about the thing: "Has eight arms and three hearts" → OCTOPUS. Facts make a puzzle feel like a quiz and teach something new even to solvers who get stuck.
4. Personal clues
For family, wedding and team crosswords: "Tells the longest fishing stories" → GRANDPA. These only work if the solvers know the people, which is exactly the point — they get the table talking.
5. Wordplay
Puns, double meanings and hidden words, signalled by a question mark: "It has keys but no locks?" → PIANO. Wordplay is what adults love about crosswords, but use it sparingly with children and learners of English, who will read it literally.
Good and bad clues, side by side
| Answer | Weak clue | Better clue | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| MARS | Planet | The red planet | Eight planets fit "planet" |
| CARROT | Vegetable | Orange root that rabbits love | Narrows to one answer |
| FROZE | Ice | Turned to ice | Matches the past-tense verb |
| SHEEP | A sheep is an animal that gives us wool | Gives us wool | Never use the answer in the clue |
| VOLCANO | Mountain that erupts lava and ash and is often found on the Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean | Mountain that erupts lava | Short clues fit the page |
Set the difficulty with the clues
The same grid can be easy or hard depending only on the clues. To make a puzzle easier, use definitions and fill-in-the-blanks, show letter counts and add a word bank. To make it harder, use facts the solver must know, add wordplay, and hide the letter counts and the bank. The maker has switches for letter counts and the word bank, so you can print an easy and a hard copy of the same puzzle for a mixed-ability class.
A good puzzle mixes levels. Aim for roughly a third easy clues that anyone can get, a third that need some thought, and a third that need crossing letters. That gives every solver a way in and a reason to keep going.
Clue writing by age
- Ages 5–7: one short sentence a child can read alone, about something they can picture. "It barks." "You sleep in it." Always use a word bank.
- Ages 8–11: definitions from the current unit, plus a few fill-in-the-blanks. Letter counts on; word bank optional.
- Ages 12+: definitions, facts and the odd bit of wordplay. No word bank.
- Adults: anything goes. General knowledge, puns, cryptic hints. Hide the letter counts for a real challenge.
Practical tips
- Never put the answer, or a word from the same family, in its own clue.
- Keep clues under about ten words so the clue lists fit on the page.
- Check facts. A wrong fact makes a fair answer impossible to find.
- For multi-word answers, the letter count shows the break: ICE CREAM is (3,5).
- Solve your own puzzle before printing a class set. You will spot the clue that points to two answers.
In our maker you write each clue after a dash on the same line as the answer — Mars - The red planet — and the Across and Down lists are built for you. For inspiration, every printable crossword on this site has original clues written to these rules.