Dinosaurs Crossword Puzzle (free printable)
A free dinosaur crossword with thirteen words and clues for grades 2 to 5: fossil, extinct, herbivore, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Jurassic and more, with an answer key.
To save a PDF, choose Print, then “Save as PDF” as the printer. Only the sheets print.
All 13 words are in the crossword (13 × 18 squares).
About this set
Thirteen dinosaur words with a clue for each, from the names children love (Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Velociraptor) to the vocabulary scientists use to study them: fossil, extinct, herbivore, carnivore, footprint, skeleton, nest, Jurassic and prehistoric. The clues describe each one in a sentence, such as a plant-eater with three horns on its face or the middle of the three periods in the age of dinosaurs, so students who have read about dinosaurs can solve them without a list in front of them. Words cross at shared letters, and the layout changes each time you press Make another.
Grades: 2nd to 5th grade. Best in: September, October, May.
The words and clues
- Dinosaur :
- A reptile that lived on land millions of years ago; its name means “terrible lizard”
- Fossil :
- The remains or print of a plant or animal preserved in rock
- Extinct :
- No longer living anywhere on Earth, as the dinosaurs are
- Herbivore :
- An animal that eats only plants
- Carnivore :
- An animal that eats meat
- Triceratops :
- A plant-eating dinosaur with three horns on its face
- Stegosaurus :
- A plant-eating dinosaur with big plates on its back and spikes on its tail
- Velociraptor :
- A small, fast, feathered dinosaur about the size of a turkey
- Jurassic :
- The middle of the three periods in the age of dinosaurs
- Footprint :
- A track left in mud that turned to stone and tells us how a dinosaur walked
- Nest :
- A place where a dinosaur laid its eggs and kept them safe
- Skeleton :
- The bones of an animal fitted together in a museum
- Prehistoric :
- From the time long before people wrote anything down
How to use it: five ideas
- Plant-eater or meat-eater: students mark each dinosaur answer with a leaf (herbivore) or a tooth (carnivore) after solving.
- Word bank for grade 2: leave it on, and read each clue aloud as a riddle so the group can call out the answer.
- Museum labels: students choose one answer and write a two-sentence museum label for it in their own words.
- Write a clue: students write a new clue for Tyrannosaurus or Apatosaurus, trade with a partner and solve each other’s.
- Dig teams: give each team its own layout by pressing Make another, then compare answers at the end.
Related
Questions
Are the clues accurate?
Yes. Triceratops had three horns and ate plants, Stegosaurus had plates on its back and spikes on its tail, and Jurassic comes between Triassic and Cretaceous. Velociraptor was about the size of a turkey and had feathers.
Why is Paleontologist not in the crossword?
It is fourteen letters long and does not fit most layouts. It is in the dinosaur word search and the bingo cards. Add it, and a clue, to the box if you want it here.
Can I change the words and clues?
Yes. Each of the 13 lines is a word, a colon and its clue. Edit any of them, and the crossword is rebuilt with new numbers.
How do I save it as a PDF?
Press Print and choose “Save as PDF” as the printer. The puzzle is page one and the answer key is page two.
How do I get a different layout?
Press “Make another”. The same words and clues are placed in a new arrangement, so each table can have its own puzzle.
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