Biology Crossword Puzzle for Middle and High School

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Biology Crossword

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Answer key: Biology Crossword

1CYTO2PLASMR3OSMOSIST4O5VACUOLERI6PG7MITOCHONDRIAEON8MITOSISKEBAL9RIBOSOMERLAYEN10DIFFUSIONET11EUKARYOTE

Across 1 CYTOPLASM · 3 OSMOSIS · 5 VACUOLE · 7 MITOCHONDRIA · 8 MITOSIS · 9 RIBOSOME · 10 DIFFUSION · 11 EUKARYOTE

Down 2 PROTEIN · 4 ORGANELLE · 6 PROKARYOTE · 7 MEMBRANE

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All 60 clues

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Cells 20

  • Cell wall Stiff outer layer of a plant cell
  • Cilia Tiny hairlike structures that beat to move a cell or a fluid
  • Cytoplasm Jelly-like fluid that fills a cell
  • Diffusion Spreading of particles from high to low concentration
  • Enzyme Substance that speeds up a chemical reaction in a living thing
  • Eukaryote Organism with complex cells, such as a plant, an animal or a fungus
  • Golgi ___ apparatus, which packages proteins for shipping
  • Lysosome Cell part full of digestive enzymes that break down worn-out parts
  • Meiosis Cell division that makes sex cells with half the usual chromosomes
  • Membrane Thin layer that controls what enters and leaves a cell
  • Mitochondria Cell parts that release energy from food, called the powerhouses
  • Mitosis Cell division that makes two identical cells
  • Nucleus Control center of a cell that holds its genetic code
  • Organelle Any small working part inside a cell
  • Osmosis Movement of water through a thin barrier toward where it is scarce
  • Prokaryote Single-celled organism, such as a bacterium, whose genetic material floats free
  • Protein Nutrient built from amino acids
  • Ribosome Tiny cell part where proteins are built
  • Tissue Group of similar cells that do one job
  • Vacuole Storage sac, very large in plant cells

Genetics and Evolution 20

  • Adaptation Inherited feature that suits a living thing to its surroundings
  • Allele Version of an inherited unit, such as the one for blue eyes
  • Carrier Person with one hidden copy who can pass it on
  • Chromosome Thread-like bundle of genetic code; human cells have 46
  • Darwin Naturalist who sailed on HMS Beagle and published his big theory in 1859
  • DNA Twisted-ladder molecule that carries the genetic code
  • Dominant Of an inherited version, showing its effect even with one copy
  • Evolution Change in living things over many generations
  • Gene Basic unit of inheritance
  • Genotype The genetic makeup of a living thing, such as Bb
  • Helix Spiral shape, as in the double ___
  • Heredity Passing of characteristics from parents to young
  • Mendel Friar who crossed pea plants and founded modern genetics
  • Mutation Change in the genetic code
  • Offspring The young of a living thing
  • Phenotype The features you can observe, such as eye color
  • Punnett ___ square, a grid for predicting a cross
  • Recessive Of an inherited version, hidden unless two copies are present
  • Selection Natural ___, the process by which the best-suited survive and reproduce
  • Species Group of living things that can breed with one another

Ecology and Classification 20

  • Biodiversity Variety of life in one place
  • Biome Large region with its own climate and life, such as tundra or desert
  • Community All the populations living in one area
  • Consumer Living thing that eats others for energy
  • Decomposer Living thing that breaks down dead matter, such as a fungus
  • Ecosystem All the living and nonliving things in an area working together
  • Food web Diagram of who eats whom in an area
  • Genus First word of a scientific name, as Homo in Homo sapiens
  • Habitat Natural home of a plant or animal
  • Kingdom Big classification group, such as the one for all animals
  • Linnaeus Swedish biologist who set up two-part Latin names for living things
  • Mutualism Partnership in which both living things gain
  • Niche The role a living thing plays in its surroundings
  • Parasite Living thing that feeds on a host and harms it
  • Phylum Classification rank that sits just above class
  • Predator Hunter that kills and eats other animals
  • Producer Living thing that makes its own food
  • Symbiosis Close, long-term relationship between two different living things
  • Taxonomy Science of naming and sorting living things
  • Vertebrate Animal with a backbone

How this list was compiled: 60 clues written for this site for middle and high school biology, in three sets: cells, genetics and evolution, and ecology and classification. Definitions were checked against English Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org) in September 2026. Photosynthesis terms live on their own crossword. No clue was copied from a published puzzle. Licence: own work

How it works

This biology crossword puzzle follows three units of a middle or high school course: cells, genetics and evolution, and ecology and classification. It is a vocabulary crossword, and it opens with the word bank off.

Read the full guide

Three units

Cells has Ribosome, Lysosome and Osmosis. Genetics and Evolution has Allele, Punnett, Mendel and Darwin. Ecology and Classification has Niche, Mutualism, Phylum and Linnaeus. Pick the unit you are teaching, or All for a review.

Print or solve

Print gives Letter or A4 with the answer key last. For a first look at a unit, tick Word bank under the clues in More options.

  • As a unit review, choose All and press Add another clue until there are 15, so cells, genetics and ecology share one grid.

Questions and answers

Is there a photosynthesis set?

Not here. The photosynthesis crossword has its own bank, from Stomata to the Calvin cycle, so the two can be used one after the other without repeating words.

Is this crossword biology for middle school or high school?

Both. Cells and Ecology and Classification suit grades 7 to 10; Genetics and Evolution suits grades 9 to 12. These bands are our judgement, not a published standard.

Is there an answer key?

Yes. Every print ends with the answer key on a sheet of its own, and Show all clues and answers, under the puzzle, lists all 60 clues with their answers.

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