Lion Crossword Puzzle for Kids
Free printable educational crossword puzzle. Every clue is a plain-English sentence from the Simple English Wikipedia article on Lion, with the key word blanked out.
Lion Crossword
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
| 6C | |||||||||||||||||||||
| O | |||||||||||||||||||||
| M | |||||||||||||||||||||
| P | |||||||||||||||||||||
| E | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 11P | R | E | D | A | T | O | R | S | |||||||||||||
| 1C | I | ||||||||||||||||||||
| O | 9K | N | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5Y | O | U | N | 7G | 10F | I | G | 4H | T | I | N | G | |||||||||
| R | O | N | U | ||||||||||||||||||
| A | 8O | R | 12I | G | I | N | A | L | L | Y | |||||||||||
| G | D | N | T | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3S | E | P | A | R | A | T | E | D | 13M | ||||||||||||
| 14T | I | G | E | R | |||||||||||||||||
| A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||
| N | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2G | R | A | S | S |
Across
- 2. Lions are adapted for life in _____ and mixed areas with trees and _____. (5 letters)
- 3. It is used for territorial marking and warning off other lions in _____ prides (or lone individuals). (8 letters)
- 5. In a pride of lions, there are related females, their _____, and one or two adult males. (5 letters)
- 8. Both words _____ came from even older languages such as Sanskrit and Ancient Egyptian. (10 letters)
- 10. This is because wounds from _____ other males make their lives shorter. (8 letters)
- 11. Lions scavenge animals either dead from natural causes (disease) or killed by other _____. (9 letters)
- 14. In zoos, lions have been known to breed with _____. (5 letters)
Down
- 1. They are used as symbols representing _____. (7 letters)
- 4. The females usually do the _____ for the pride. (4 letters)
- 6. This however, is usually carried out by _____ males. (9 letters)
- 7. Even though a lion is _____ at killing prey, they are not among the most dangerous animals to humans. (4 letters)
- 9. Lions are often called the "_____ of the beasts". (4 letters)
- 12. Today, wild lions live in sub-Saharan Africa and western _____. (5 letters)
- 13. The word "lion" comes from the Latin word "leo" which _____ lion. (5 letters)
Clues are sentences from the Simple English Wikipedia article “Lion” (revision 10757204, CC BY-SA 4.0). crosswordprint.com/printable-crosswords/animals/lion-for-kids/
Lion Word Search
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Words to Find
crosswordprint.com/printable-crosswords/animals/lion-for-kids/
Pick the word that completes each sentence from the Simple English Wikipedia article.
Is the sentence correct? Some sentences have one word altered.
Click a clue, then click the word it belongs to.
Unscramble each word. The clue is the sentence it was taken from.
How to Solve & Use the Answer Key
This is a fill-in crossword. Each clue is a sentence from the Simple English Wikipedia article on Lion, with the key term blanked out. The number in parentheses shows the letter count. Solve interactively on screen or check Show answers to view the answer key. To print a clean student worksheet, press Print Puzzle.
Lion Crossword Answer Key & Definitions
Show Complete Answers & Word Definitions
- 2 Across: GRASS — Grass is a type of plant with narrow leaves growing from the base. Simple English Wikipedia: Grass
- 3 Across: SEPARATE
- 5 Across: YOUNG — "Young" is a song written by Naoise Sheridan, Steve McEwan, and Craig Wiseman and recorded by American country music singer Kenny Chesney. Simple English Wikipedia: Young
- 8 Across: ORIGINALLY — Originally is an album by drummer Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers recorded in 1956, but not released on the Columbia label until 1982. Wikipedia: Originally
- 10 Across: FIGHTING — Combat, or fighting, is purposeful violent conflict between two or more persons, groups or organizations, often intended to establish dominance over the opponent. Simple English Wikipedia: Combat
- 11 Across: PREDATORS — In ecology, predation describes a relationship and actions between two creatures. Simple English Wikipedia: Predation
- 14 Across: TIGER — The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest living member of the cat family, the Felidae. Simple English Wikipedia: Tiger
- 1 Down: COURAGE — A person has Courage if they do something even though they are afraid. Simple English Wikipedia: Courage
- 4 Down: HUNT — Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. Wikipedia: Hunting
- 6 Down: COMPETING — Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Wikipedia: Competition
- 7 Down: GOOD — Good is considered to be the opposite of evil. Simple English Wikipedia: Good
- 9 Down: KING — A king is usually a male monarch who rules a country or territory which is a monarchy. Simple English Wikipedia: King
- 12 Down: INDIA — India, officially the Republic of India, also known as Hindustān, is a country in South Asia. Simple English Wikipedia: India
- 13 Down: MEANS
Definitions adapted from Simple English Wikipedia and Wikipedia articles (week 2026-W41), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Read about Lion
The lion (Panthera leo) is a large mammal of the Felidae (cat) family. Some large males weigh over 250 kg. Today, wild lions live in sub-Saharan Africa and western India. Lions are adapted for life in grasslands and mixed areas with trees and grass. The relatively small females are fast runners over short distances, and coordinate their hunting of herd animals.
Lions have disappeared from North Africa and southwest Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene,which is about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. They were found in most of Africa, across Eurasia from western Europe to India, and in the Americas from the Yukon to Peru. The lion is now a vulnerable species. There was a decline in its African range of 30–50% over two decades in the second half of the 20th century. Habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes of concern.
Lions are often called the "king of the beasts". They are used as symbols representing courage. They appear in heraldry more often than any other animal. They are an icon of courage and royalty.
Lions live for 10 to 14 years in the wild. When they are captured, they can live longer than 20 years. In the wild, males do not usually live longer than 10 years. This is because wounds from fighting other males make their lives shorter. They usually live in savanna and grassland. These areas do have bushes and trees, but lions are mainly adapted to catch prey in grasslands. Compared to other cats, lions are social. A group of lions is called a pride. In a pride of lions, there are related females, their young, and one or two adult males. Groups of female lions often hunt together.
Lions are carnivores and scavengers. They are also apex predators. Lions feed ungulates on small feed Thomson's gazelle, warthogs, blue wildebeests, plains zebra, African buffalos, common elands. Lions scavenge animals either dead from natural causes (disease) or killed by other predators. They keep a constant lookout for circling vultures, because this means there is a dead or injured animal close by.
Etymology
The word "lion" comes from the Latin word "leo" which means lion. The Latin word itself is derived from the Greek word "leon". Both words originally came from even older languages such as Sanskrit and Ancient Egyptian. Basically, the word "lion" has been passed down through different civilizations over time also in a language called Punjabi the word called Singh means lion in Pajabi.
Adaptations
They have an archetypal roar which is used to communicate with other group members and warn different intruders of territorial boundaries.
They have long, retractable claws which help the lion to grab and hold prey. They also have a rough tongue that helps them peel the skin of prey animals away from flesh and flesh away from bone. Across their belly, they have loose skin which allows the species to be kicked by prey with little chance of an injury.
Description
There are around 30,000 lions left in the wild in Africa. Only 350 lions (of the Asiatic lion subspecies) are left in Asia. They live in the Gir Forest in the state of Gujarat, India.
Lions hunt many animals, such as gnus and antelopes. Male lions usually weigh between 150 and 250 kg. Large lions have reached 250 to 270 kg. Females (lionesses) are usually 120 to 182 kg. Mature male lions are the only cats with a mane. The lion has a long body, short legs, large claws, big head, and a yellowish-brown coat.They also have a long tail.
Behaviour
Lions live in groups that are called prides. About 10 to 40 lions may live in a pride. Each pride has a home area that is called a territory. Lions do not allow other carnivores (meat-eating animals) to hunt in their territory. A territory can be as large as 260 km2.
The lions' roar is unique in each individual. It is used for territorial marking and warning off other lions in separate prides (or lone individuals). This however, is usually carried out by competing males. Other male lions will challenge the alpha of the pride to a fight in order to take their spot of dominance if they win. Lions actually have prides in order to strengthen their species throughout the generations (Boothalingam 2018).
Lions are not built for extreme speed as cheetahs are, but hunt in packs. This is unusual in cats. The females usually do the hunting for the pride. However the males can sometimes help if needed, to take down large animals like a buffalo or a giraffe. After lions have brought down a prey, they suffocate it by biting the front of its face to prevent it breathing. Lions also have long retractable claws which act like grappling hooks, to keep hold of prey.They are aggressive, powerful creatures.
Even though a lion is good at killing prey, they are not among the most dangerous animals to humans.
Lions also have a variety of vocalizations. These include growling, roaring, snarling, grunting, purring, moaning, and highly likely, snap-roars. Some roars are used in movies, and the most common versions are from the Hollywood Edge, Sounddogs and Sound Ideas, which are all actually liger, tigon and Bengal tiger roars.
Breeding
A lioness is ready to have young when she is 2–3 years old. Young lions are called cubs. Cubs are born after 3/1/2 months. The cubs are born blind; their eyes do not open until they are about a week old, and cannot see well until they are about two weeks old. Lions do not have a den (home) where they would live for a long time. The lioness conceals the cubs in thick bush, gullies, or rocky outcrops. If the hiding place has been seen by other predators, then the lioness will move the cubs to a new hiding place. The cubs will be introduced to the pride at about 6 weeks old. The cubs are very vulnerable when the lioness goes out to hunt and needs to leave the cubs behind. Also, when a new male takes over a pride from another male, he usually kills all of the cubs. The cubs' mothers will then mate with the new pride male, which means that the first batch of new cubs will be his offspring. A litter of 2-6 cubs are born. Usually, only 1-2 cubs survive until introduced to the pride, at which point they are protected by the whole pride.
In zoos, lions have been known to breed with tigers. If the parents are a male lion and a female tiger, the offspring is called a liger. If the parents are a male tiger and a female lion, the offspring is called a tigon.
Lions in heraldry
Lions appear in heraldry more often than any other animal. They traditionally symbolise courage, valour and royalty.
Text adapted from the Simple English Wikipedia article “Lion” (revision 10757204, 2026-02-20), authors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.