Free printable cryptograms

Cryptogram puzzles built for paper: big type, a blank line under every letter, and the answer key on its own page. Download the PDF or print this site straight from your browser. Nothing to sign up for, nothing to install.

47 printable sets so far, sorted by difficulty, by author and by subject. Every quote is in the public domain and every answer page names the year and the source we verified it from — if we could not verify an attribution, we did not print it.

By difficulty

Start easy and work up. Difficulty is scored on letter variety, word length and how many common short words a quote gives you.

• Easy

  2 sets · 8 puzzles

• Medium

  6 sets · 36 puzzles

• Hard

  5 sets · 25 puzzles

• Expert

  2 sets · 12 puzzles

By author

One writer per sheet — handy for a classroom, a book club or a themed afternoon at a senior center.

• Mark Twain

  One sheet · 7 puzzles

• Benjamin Franklin

  2 sets · 8 puzzles

• Shakespeare

  2 sets · 9 puzzles

• Oscar Wilde

  One sheet · 6 puzzles

• Proverb

  3 sets · 15 puzzles

By subject

Quotes grouped by what they are about.

• Wisdom

  5 sets · 26 puzzles

• Action

  3 sets · 13 puzzles

• Character

  One sheet · 6 puzzles

• Hope

  One sheet · 6 puzzles

• Truth

  One sheet · 7 puzzles

• Learning

  One sheet · 6 puzzles

• Time

  2 sets · 12 puzzles

• Nature

  One sheet · 7 puzzles

How these sheets are built

Each set uses its own cipher key, so a quote you have already met on the daily puzzle comes back as a completely different-looking puzzle here. Every sheet gives you a starter clue, an A–Z decoder strip under each puzzle, and a one-page cheat sheet of letter frequencies. Answers never share a page with a puzzle.