How to Make a Crossword in Word or Google Docs (and an Easier Way)

The manual way in Word

Insert a table with equal-width columns and rows so the cells are square. Type one letter per cell where your words cross, then shade the unused cells black with the cell-shading tool. Add a small number in the first cell of each word, and type the across and down clue lists below the table.

Plan the crossings on scratch paper first. The hard part is making words share letters and keeping the grid compact — that is the work a maker does automatically.

The same thing in Google Docs

Google Docs works the same way with a couple of quirks. Insert a table, then set each column to a fixed narrow width so the cells read as squares — Docs does not square them for you. Use the paint-bucket cell color to black out unused squares, and use a small superscript for the entry numbers.

Docs has no built-in grid tool, so everything is manual: squaring cells, shading, numbering, and keeping a second copy as the answer key. It is workable for a tiny puzzle and tedious for anything larger.

Where the manual route falls down

• Squaring the table cells and shading them by hand is fiddly.
• Any edit — adding a word — can mean re-laying the whole grid.
• Numbering by hand is error-prone.
• There is no automatic answer key; you maintain a second copy.

The easier way

Paste your answers and clues into a crossword maker, click generate, and you get the interlocking grid, the numbered clue lists, and a separate answer key. Print it, save a PDF, or share a link. An edit is one more line and a re-generate, not a rebuild.

When to use which

Use Word or Docs if you need the puzzle inside a larger document with specific formatting and you only have three or four words. For anything you will print, hand to a class, or edit more than once, the maker is faster and cleaner.