Example 1 · level 1 — a gentle start
Choose the word that best fits: The sun was so ___ that we wore hats.
- quiet
- distant
- bright
- narrow
Answer: bright — Only bright explains needing hats in the sun.
11+ cloze (missing words) questions
Cloze (missing words) questions test the vocabulary and precision an 11+ English paper is really examining. Here is what is being asked, how to reason it out rather than guess, and five worked examples with full explanations, rising in difficulty.
English · examined by GL and CEM · 5 worked examples
What your child needs to know
- Read the WHOLE sentence first, including the part after the gap. The clue is usually there.
- Ask what the sentence is really saying. 'We took an umbrella because the sky looked ___' needs a weather word.
Where marks get lost: Several options may fit the shape of the sentence. Only one fits its sense — that is the test.
Worked examples
Every question below is generated by the same engine your child practises on, and every answer is derived by our checker rather than written by hand — which is why we can put them on a public page at all.
Example 2 · level 2 — typical of early practice
Choose the word that best fits: The soup was too ___ to eat straight away.
- loud
- tall
- hot
- cold
Answer: hot — Hot explains waiting.
Example 3 · level 3 — standard paper difficulty
Choose the word that best fits: The plan was ___ from the start and soon collapsed.
- expensive
- popular
- untenable
- modest
Answer: untenable — Untenable means it could not be sustained.
Example 4 · level 4 — a harder paper
Choose the word that best fits: The critic was ___ , finding fault with everything.
- laudatory
- generous
- scathing
- brief
Answer: scathing — Finding fault with everything is scathing.
Example 5 · level 5 — the level that separates candidates
Choose the word that best fits: His ___ for detail made him a fine editor.
- brevity
- disregard
- meticulousness
- carelessness
Answer: meticulousness — A fine editor attends to detail.
How to practise this at home
- Vocabulary is cumulative, so a small number of words revisited over weeks beats a long list crammed the night before.
- Ask your child to use a new word in a sentence about their own day — a word they can only define is a word they will lose under pressure.
- When a question turns on a shade of meaning, talk about why the near-miss option is wrong. That is the skill being examined.
Practise cloze (missing words) with a tutor that explains
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