11+ English
Cloze and gap-fill questions — choosing words that fit meaning and grammar in context.
Missing Words appears in 9 of our 338 ready papers (69 tagged questions). It averages 7.7 questions a paper worth about 1.06 marks each. The typical question allows around 34 sec.
Missing-word (cloze) questions test vocabulary and grammar together. Children must pick a word that fits the sentence’s meaning and its grammatical slot. Papers use multiple-choice banks or open gaps. Guessing from the first word that “sounds right” fails when tense or agreement is wrong. Teach a two-pass method: decide the job of the gap (noun, verb, adjective), then choose the meaning that fits the surrounding sentences. Practise reading the full paragraph, not only the line with the blank — context often sits one sentence away. If two options both fit grammatically, re-read the tone of the passage and pick the word that keeps the author’s sense intact.
A real tagged question from our catalogue — method included, not paywalled.
Ranked from our tagged catalogue — open a paper to practise the questions that actually test this topic.
Not sure whether missing words is the problem? Mark any past paper on 11plusSolved and the report tells you which topics are costing marks — and how many.
