How to Make Your Own Fill-In Puzzles and Crosswords
Puzzle books are fun, but they're fixed — the same puzzles for everyone, forever. Making your own puzzles used to mean hours of careful grid design, but with the free generators on this site, a fresh, print-ready puzzle takes seconds. Here's how to make puzzles for any occasion, and how to get the most out of each tool.
The three generators at a glance
- Word fill-in maker — word fit puzzles in six categories (animals, food & drink, sports, countries, jobs, nature) at three difficulty levels.
- Number fill-in maker — number fit puzzles with five themes: classic, even, odd, prime and multiples of 3.
- Crossword maker — full crosswords with automatic grid generation and hand-written clues, across and down lists included.
Every puzzle is generated fresh, so you never see the same grid twice — hit "New Puzzle" as many times as you like.
Ideas for using custom puzzles
Parties and events
Print a stack of word fill-ins as table activities at a birthday party, family gathering or wedding brunch. Choose the Animals category for a kids' party, or Countries for a travel-themed event. Number fill-ins are great for any crowd — no trivia knowledge needed.
Gifts and care packages
Bundle a few printed puzzles with a nice pen and a small puzzle book for a thoughtful, screen-free gift. Include the printed answer key so the recipient can check their work.
Homeschooling and quiet time
Generate a week's worth of puzzles in five minutes and keep them in a folder. Different difficulty levels let every family member work at their own pace — see our classroom guide for more ideas that work just as well at home.
Tips for great puzzles
- Match the difficulty to the solver. Easy settings use short words and open grids; hard settings pack in long words. When in doubt, start easy — you can always regenerate.
- Print answers separately. Use "Print / PDF" for the puzzle and "Print Answers" for the key, so the answers page doesn't spoil the puzzle page.
- Save as PDF. The print dialog in any browser lets you save directly to PDF, perfect for sharing by email or reprinting later.
One thing to keep in mind
All puzzles on this site are generated by original software using common, original content — nothing is copied from published puzzle books. That means you're free to use, print and share everything you create here, including in classrooms and at events.
Ready to make your first puzzle? Start with a word fill-in, try a number fill-in, or go straight for the crossword maker.