Winter Crossword Puzzle for December to February

Press New puzzle for a winter vocabulary crossword with no holiday words, for any class from December to February.

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Winter Crossword

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

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Answer key: Winter Crossword

1W2F3D4CAR5IBOU6TELGR7RINKRLTA8PUOC9SNOWSHOEKL10SNOWANGELR11SNOWBOARDEA12HIBERNATE

Across 4 CARIBOU · 7 RINK · 9 SNOWSHOE · 10 SNOWANGEL · 11 SNOWBOARD · 12 HIBERNATE

Down 1 WALRUS · 2 FORT · 3 DEN · 5 IGLOO · 6 TRACKS · 8 POLARBEAR

Next step Find winter words in a word searchScramble your own list of winter words

All 60 clues

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Weather and Ice 20

  • Arctic Icy region around the North Pole
  • Avalanche Mass of snow sliding fast down a mountain
  • Blizzard Long snowstorm with strong winds and little to see
  • Chilly Cold enough to need a jacket
  • Crystal Clear, many-sided solid; every flake of snow is one
  • Degrees Units shown on a thermometer
  • Drift Deep pile of snow heaped up by the wind
  • Frostbite Injury to fingers or toes from freezing cold
  • Frozen Turned solid by the cold, like a pond in January
  • Hail Balls of ice that fall in a storm
  • Icicle Pointed spike of ice hanging from a roof
  • Overcast Covered with gray cloud
  • Permafrost Ground that stays under 0 °C for at least two years
  • Slush Half-melted snow on the road
  • Snowflake Six-armed piece of ice that falls from a winter cloud
  • Snowplow Truck with a big blade that clears the road
  • Solstice Shortest day of the year, December 21 or 22 in the north
  • Thaw When ice and snow melt as the air warms up
  • Whiteout Snow so thick you cannot tell the ground from the sky
  • Wind chill How cold it feels once the wind is counted

Keeping Warm 20

  • Beanie Close-fitting knit cap
  • Cocoa Hot chocolate drink to warm up with
  • Earmuffs Two soft pads on a band that keep your ears warm
  • Firewood Logs split for burning
  • Flannel Soft brushed cotton for warm shirts and sheets
  • Fleece Soft, fuzzy fabric used for warm jackets
  • Furnace Machine in the basement that heats a house
  • Gloves Hand warmers with a place for each finger
  • Hood Part of a coat that covers your head
  • Kindling Small dry sticks used to start a fire
  • Layers Thin pieces of clothing worn one on top of another
  • Long johns Warm underwear with long legs and sleeves
  • Mittens Hand warmers with a thumb and one pocket for the fingers
  • Parka Long, hooded, padded winter coat
  • Radiator Metal heater under a window that warms a room
  • Scarf Long strip of cloth wound round the neck
  • Snowsuit One-piece padded outfit for a child playing outside
  • Socks You pull them on before your boots
  • Thermostat Dial or screen on the wall that sets the heat
  • Wool Warm fiber shorn from sheep

Outdoors and Animals 20

  • Caribou North American name for the reindeer
  • Chickadee Small black-capped bird that stays north all winter
  • Curling Sport of sliding heavy stones toward a target on ice while teammates sweep
  • Den Snug home where an animal waits out the cold
  • Fort Snow walls built to hide behind in a snowball fight
  • Hibernate Rest through the cold months with the body slowed right down, as groundhogs do
  • Hockey Team sport played on ice with sticks and a puck
  • Igloo Dome-shaped shelter built from blocks of snow
  • Migrate Travel somewhere warmer for the season, as many birds do
  • Penguin The emperor kind is the only one that breeds in the Antarctic winter
  • Polar bear Large white bear that hunts seals on sea ice
  • Rink Sheet of ice for skating
  • Ski Glide down a slope on two long runners
  • Sled Ride on it down a snowy hill
  • Snow angel Shape you make by lying in snow and sweeping your arms and legs
  • Snowboard Single wide board you ride sideways down a slope
  • Snowman Figure of rolled snowballs with a carrot nose
  • Snowshoe Wide frame strapped to a boot so you walk on top of deep snow
  • Tracks Prints an animal leaves in fresh snow
  • Walrus Tusked sea mammal of the far north

How this list was compiled: 60 clues written for this site for elementary classes, in three sets: weather and ice, keeping warm, and outdoors and animals. No holiday word is an answer or a clue, so every set works from December to February in any classroom. Science and animal clues were checked against English Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org) in September 2026. No clue was copied from a published puzzle. Licence: own work

How it works

This winter crossword puzzle has no holiday words, so it works in any classroom from December to February. It is a vocabulary crossword in three sets: weather and ice, keeping warm, and outdoors and animals.

Read the full guide

Three winter sets

Outdoors and Animals has Sled, Igloo, Curling and Caribou. Keeping Warm has Mittens, Kindling and Thermostat. Weather and Ice has the science: Permafrost, Wind chill, Avalanche and the solstice on December 21 or 22.

Print or solve

Print gives Letter or A4 with the answer key last. To solve on screen, tap a square and type.

  • For grades 1 and 2, take clues away with their crosses until 8 are left and tick Word bank under the clues in More options.

Questions and answers

Is this winter crossword free of Christmas and other holidays?

Yes. No answer or clue names a holiday, so a class that keeps none of them can use every set. For a December holiday puzzle, use the Christmas crossword, which also covers Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

What grades is the winter cross word puzzle for?

Outdoors and Animals and Keeping Warm suit grades 1 to 4. Weather and Ice suits grades 3 to 6, with words such as Permafrost and Solstice. 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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