Fall crossword puzzle
A crisp-weather crossword about falling leaves, orchards, acorns, sweaters, harvests and the rake waiting beside the garden.
Curated by 
Esme Rook
·
Updated October 2026
Play it right here
12 clues to solve: 5 across and 7 down. Tap a square and type; tap it again to switch between across and down. Solved words lock in green.
Across
- 3. Seasonal journey made by many birds (9)
- 6. Warm knitted top for a cool day (7)
- 8. Date when day and night are nearly equal (7)
- 11. Straw figure placed in a field (9)
- 12. They change color and drop from trees (6)
Down
- 1. Glossy brown nut in a prickly case (8)
- 2. Drink pressed from apples (5)
- 4. Place where fruit trees are grown (7)
- 5. Seasonal gathering of ripe crops (7)
- 7. Large outdoor fire (7)
- 9. Oak tree seed with a little cap (5)
- 10. Tool used to gather fallen leaves (4)
What signs of fall are in the grid?
Nature, clothing and harvest words share the grid. The clues can double as a seasonal vocabulary review because each answer describes a visible sign of fall. LEAVES that change color, the ACORN with its little cap, a warm SWEATER and the SCARECROW in the field are all here.
Acorn, rake and cider first
Use the small outdoor objects first: acorn, rake and cider. They give you crossing letters in migration, scarecrow and sweater. MIGRATION and SCARECROW are the longest answers at nine letters, and RAKE is the shortest at four. EQUINOX, the date when day and night are nearly equal, is reached through HARVEST and BONFIRE, so leave it until one of those is in place. SWEATER is a useful middle step, since it also crosses CHESTNUT and HARVEST.
A season to talk about
Several clues invite a short science chat: why birds make a seasonal journey, what an equinox is, how a CHESTNUT hides in a prickly case. The ORCHARD, where fruit trees are grown, and CIDER, the drink pressed from apples, both hang off MIGRATION. It suits elementary classes in September and October, nature clubs and families after a walk in the park. The fall word search keeps the leaves falling, and the Thanksgiving crossword belongs to the same months.
From the screen to the fridge door
Fill in the grid online here, or grab the puzzle PDF and print its single page. The completed grid sits in a separate answer-key PDF, ready for a parent or teacher to check the work. Every other theme lives on the printable crossword puzzles hub.
Same theme, different puzzle: Fall word search
