ESL Crossword Puzzles for Beginners, by Topic

Pick a topic and press Print for an English language crossword with fill-the-gap sentence clues.

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Name Date

English Crossword

Read each clue and write the answer in the squares that start at its number, one letter in each square.

This grid is wider than a phone screen, so it scrolls sideways. It prints whole.

Tap a square, and its clue shows here.

Across

Down

Word bank

  • Breakfast
  • Fish
  • Hungry
  • Menu
  • Noodles
  • Orange
  • Rice
  • Thirsty

Type in a square and the next one takes over. Tap the same square again, or press Space, to switch between Across and Down. Arrow keys move around the grid, Enter goes to the next clue, and a clue takes you to its squares.

Print gives 2 pages on Letter or A4: the puzzle with its clues, then the answer key. The squares print 10 mm wide. For a PDF, choose Save as PDF in the print window.

A share link holds the puzzle number and these settings, nothing you typed.

Answer key: English Crossword

1N2OO3THIRSTYOAD4HUNGRYLGE5B6REAK7FASTIICS8MENUH

Across 3 THIRSTY · 4 HUNGRY · 5 BREAKFAST · 8 MENU

Down 1 NOODLES · 2 ORANGE · 6 RICE · 7 FISH

Next step Print an ESL word searchTry the easy large print crossword

All 72 clues

Show all clues and answers

Food and Drink 12

  • Breakfast I eat ___ every morning before school
  • Chicken A ___ is a bird. We also eat its meat
  • Dinner We eat ___ in the evening
  • Egg A hen lays an ___
  • Fish A ___ swims in the sea
  • Hungry I want to eat. I am ___
  • Menu In a restaurant, I read the ___ and choose my food
  • Noodles Long, thin ___ are made from flour
  • Orange An ___ is a round fruit. It is also a color
  • Rice People in many countries eat white ___ with a spoon or chopsticks
  • Thirsty I want a drink. I am ___
  • Water Rain is ___ that falls from the sky

Clothes 12

  • Belt I wear a ___ around my waist
  • Boots I wear ___ in the snow
  • Cap A baseball ___ has a brim at the front
  • Jacket It is cold, so I put on my ___
  • Jeans ___ are made of blue denim
  • Pajamas I wear ___ when I go to bed
  • Pants ___ cover my legs
  • Sandals In hot weather I wear ___ and my toes are free
  • Shoes I wear ___ on my feet
  • Skirt She wears a ___ with a blouse
  • Sneakers I wear ___ when I play sports
  • Uniform Students at my school all wear the same ___

Family 12

  • Aunt My mom's sister is my ___
  • Baby A very young child is a ___
  • Cousin The child of my mom's sister is my ___
  • Daughter A girl is the ___ of her mom and dad
  • Grandfather My dad's father is my ___
  • Grandmother My mom's mother is my ___
  • Husband My dad is my mom's ___
  • Parents My mom and dad are my ___
  • Son A boy is the ___ of his mom and dad
  • Twins Two babies born on the same day to the same mom are ___
  • Uncle My dad's brother is my ___
  • Wife My mom is my dad's ___

Jobs 12

  • Artist An ___ paints pictures
  • Baker A ___ makes bread and cakes
  • Cashier A ___ takes my money at the store
  • Chef A ___ cooks food in a restaurant
  • Dentist A ___ checks my teeth
  • Driver A bus ___ takes children to school
  • Firefighter A ___ puts out fires
  • Mail carrier A ___ brings letters to my house
  • Mechanic A ___ fixes cars
  • Nurse A ___ helps sick people in a hospital
  • Pilot A ___ flies a plane
  • Waiter A ___ brings food to my table

The Home 12

  • Apartment We live in an ___ in a tall building
  • Bathroom I brush my teeth in the ___
  • Bedroom I sleep in my ___
  • Closet I hang my clothes in the ___
  • Floor My bag is on the ___, not on the table
  • Garage Our car is in the ___
  • Kitchen I cook food in the ___
  • Living room We sit on the sofa and watch TV in the ___
  • Refrigerator We keep milk cold in the ___
  • Roof The ___ is on top of the house
  • Shower I wash my body in the ___ every morning
  • Window I look out of the ___ and see the street

Weather and Seasons 12

  • Cloudy The sky is gray and I cannot see the sun. It is ___
  • Fall Leaves change color and drop in the ___
  • Foggy I cannot see far because the air is thick and gray. It is ___
  • Rainy Drops come down from the clouds. It is ___
  • Snowy Everything is white outside. It is ___
  • Spring Flowers start to grow in ___
  • Summer ___ is the hottest season
  • Sunny The sky is blue and bright. It is ___
  • Temperature The ___ tells how hot or cold it is
  • Umbrella I open my ___ when it rains
  • Windy My hat blows away. It is ___
  • Winter ___ is the coldest season

How this list was compiled: 72 clues written for this site for beginner learners of English (about CEFR A1 to A2), in six topics of 12: food and drink, clothes, family, jobs, the home, and weather and seasons. Every clue is a short present-tense sentence with a gap. American spelling and American words (pants, apartment, fall) throughout. No clue was copied from a published puzzle. Licence: own work

How it works

These ESL crossword puzzles give every clue as a short sentence with a gap, such as A ___ flies a plane. They suit beginners of any age, at about CEFR level A1 to A2, and use American spelling.

Read the full guide

Six topics

Food and Drink, Clothes, Family, Jobs, The Home, and Weather and Seasons. Each puzzle opens on 8 words from one topic, with the word bank under the clues so learners can copy the spelling.

Print or solve

Print gives Letter or A4 with the answer key last. For a first lesson, take clues away with their crosses until 6 are left. On screen, tap a square and type.

  • After the puzzle, have learners read each finished sentence aloud; the clues are the speaking practice.

Questions and answers

What level are these English language crosswords?

Beginner, about CEFR A1 to A2: everyday words such as Hungry, Jacket, Aunt and Kitchen in present-tense sentences. The level is our judgement, not a published list.

Why American spelling?

The answers use American words and spellings, such as Pants, Apartment and Fall for autumn. Learners of British English may prefer to teach those three words first.

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 72 clues with their answers.

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