How to Make a Crossword Puzzle on Microsoft Word

1. Open Microsoft Word and click the "Office" button.
2. Click "New" when the Office menu opens. The "New Document" dialog box will open. You can create a new document here or download a template.
3. Enter "crossword puzzle" in the Microsoft Office Online search bar located at the top of the dialog box to search for a crossword puzzle template.
4. Select a crossword puzzle template from the search results and click "Download." The template will begin downloading to your computer and will open as a new Word document.
5. Remove the sample information from the template and enter your own clues.
6. Right click over the puzzle to add a white box or to shade a box. Select "Border and Shading" from the menu that opens and then click the "Shading" tab when the dialog box opens.
7. Click the arrow next to "Fill" and choose a box to fill with a white or black color, depending on whether you want a white box for a clue or a black box to serve as a space. Click "OK."
8. Add extra boxes in the crossword puzzle by highlighting a row or column and then pressing the right mouse button. Click "Insert" from the menu that opens and then choose to insert a row or column to the left or right of the highlighted area.
9. Add numbers to the white boxes to correspond with the clues. Select a white box and enter a number in the box. Highlight the number and right-click with your mouse.
10. Select "Font" from the menu that opens. The "Font" dialog box will open. Check the box next to "Superscript" and click "OK."
11. Fill out a copy of your crossword puzzle to make sure that there is a white box for each clue and that none of the clues intersect each other at the wrong place.