Animal crossword puzzles
Here is a collection of different kinds of animal crosswords. Scroll down to see the different themes. They are handy to both learn and reinforce new animal vocabulary in a fun way. Consider setting aside 10 to 15 minutes of your next nature-related class for your students to try one of the crosswords. There are a ton of other animal-related activities on ESL Vault so don’t be afraid to use the search bar
All the clues in these puzzles are in picture form. If your students don’t know all the animals or have trouble spelling them you can write the animal names randomly on the board to help them. You can also let them use dictionaries if need be. Letting students work in pairs is also helpful for lower levels.
The first printable above is quite easy and is suitable for most beginners. The answers are – 1 seahorse, 2 – elephant, 3 turkey, 4 rabbit, 5 spider, 6 snake, 7 leopard, 8 gorilla, 9 ladybug, 10 giraffe, 11 eagle, 12 frog, 13 raccoon, 14 monkey, 15 octopus, 16 skunk, 17 kangaroo, 18 koals, and 19 mouse.
Animal crossword 2
This puzzle is the same as the first one above but all the numbers have been removed to make it more challenging.
To solve it students must count the letters of each animal name and fit them into the boxes provided.
You can refer to the first crossword’s answers if your students get stuck and need a clue or two.
Animals crossword puzzle 3
This is similar to animal crossword puzzle 1 but has 19 completely different kinds of fauna. It is also a bit more difficult with some less common animals.
The answers to this puzzle are – 1 orangutan, 2 anteater, 3 ant, 4 shark, 5 ostrich, 6 chameleon, 7 sloth, 8 seal, 9 llama, 10 deer, 11 peacock, 12 zebra, 13 camel, 14 swan, 15 walrus, 16 lobster, 17 starfish, 18 snail, 19 lion.
Ocean animals crossword puzzle
This animals crossword features beasts found in the sea. It works as a great warmer or cooler if you are using one of the ocean conversation question worksheets.
This is a fairly challenging worksheet and is best suited to intermediate level learners. Note that the are no spaces between animal names that have 2 words. The answers for this crossword are –
1 shark, 2 manta ray, 3 killer whale, 4 squid, 5 octopus, 6 turtle, 7 jellyfish, 8 walrus, 9 lobster, 10 dolphin, 11 seal, 12 seahorse, 13 eel, 14 dugong, 15 penguin, 16 narwhal, 17 starfish, 18 whale, 19 anglerfish.
Bugs and insects crossword
A bugs and insects crossword for upper intermediate level learners and above.
The answers for this puzzle are –
1 termite, 2 grasshopper, 3 scorpion, 4 worm, 5 mosquito, 6 cricket, 7 centipede, 8 spider, 9 dragonfly, 10 moth, 11 honey bee, 12 caterpillar, 13 butterfly, 14 flea, 15 wasp, 16 snail, 17, fly, 18 ladybug, 19 firebug.
Birds crossword puzzle
An animal crossword of things that fly except for chickens and ostriches and…Okay, it is a puzzle about animals with 2 wings and feathers! This one is also pretty hard so you may need to let students use dictionaries or give them clues.
The answers here should be –
1 – pelican, 2 flamingo, 3 ostrich, 4 seagull, 5 vulture, 6 owl, 7 crow, 8 duck, 9 peacock, 10 chicken, 11 heron, 12 cockatoo, 13 kingfisher, 14 hawk, 15 turkey, 16 hummingbird, 17 toucan 18 pheasant, 19 swan.
There are also some bird vocabulary matching worksheets that go well with this activity.
