Anatomy and physiology (A&P) courses are content-dense courses requiring the acquisition of an entirely new vocabulary to refer to body structures. Students struggle with learning the new words, linking terms with their functional anatomy, and spelling those words correctly. Crossword puzzles (CWPs) provide low-stakes opportunities for students to practice recalling these words and, by fitting them into the puzzle, how to spell them. Students (537) enrolled in two sections of a first year A&P course were provided with 4 online CWP assignments while studying the anatomy of the integumentary, musculoskeletal, and nervous systems. The CWPs were custom-made by the author with the clues derived from course content pertaining to those new terms. Each student population (Group 1 and Group 2) had completely different anatomical terms in their four CWPs. Student recall of the terms and their ability to spell those words correctly were assessed using fill-in-the-blank and diagram labeling questions on two midterm exams. Student outcomes were compared, word by word using paired t-test, based on whether or not students had opportunities to practice with that word in their CWP assignments, with a p value less than 0.05 considered a significant effect. Student participation in the assignments was high (90-97%) and students demonstrated better word recall and more accurate spelling if they were provided with that word in their CWP compared to if they were not. CWPs engaged students and supported their learning by providing opportunities to review course content and fit terminology words into the correct number of spaces.