Cloze: Practice Set 2
Cloze: Practice Set 2 gives further practice at the cloze procedure introduced in Cloze, this time focusing on gaps left completely open with no word bank to choose from, which is the harder version of the task and the one strong candidates need to master for GL Assessment and CSSE-style papers.
Method
- Read the whole passage once without stopping at the gaps to establish the topic, setting and tone before choosing any word.
- For an open gap with no word bank, decide the word class needed before thinking of exact words, since guessing the type first narrows the possibilities.
- Predict a sensible word of your own for the gap based on meaning and grammar, then check whether it fits the surrounding punctuation and word order.
- Look at the sentences either side of the gap for clues, a cause, a result, a description, since a cloze passage's later sentences often explain or continue an earlier idea.
- Where more than one sensible word could fit, choose the one that matches the register and mood already established in the passage rather than one that would seem out of place.
- Reread the finished passage in full, checking tense agreement and that each chosen word makes sense with the ones before and after it.
Worked example
Complete the gaps with your own suitable words (no word bank is given): 'The old clock in the hallway had (1)_______ working years ago, yet every evening at six o'clock it still (2)_______ , as if refusing to admit defeat.'
- Identify the word class needed for gap (1): a verb form after 'had', so a past participle is required.
- Think of a past participle that fits 'stopped working' in meaning: 'stopped' fits naturally and matches the everyday tone of the sentence.
- Identify the word class needed for gap (2): a verb describing what the clock does 'every evening at six o'clock', linking to the idea in 'as if refusing to admit defeat'.
- Think of a verb that fits a clock 'refusing to admit defeat' despite not truly working: 'struck' fits, since a clock striking the hour even though it no longer keeps proper time creates the contrast the sentence describes.
- Check both words against the whole sentence for sense and tense: the passage reads naturally and keeps its wistful tone.
- Final answer: (1) stopped (2) struck.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Complete the gap with your own suitable word: 'The wind had (1)_______ overnight, leaving the streets scattered with broken branches.'Show answer
Answer: Any verb describing wind becoming stronger overnight fits, for example 'picked up' or 'strengthened'.
Q2Complete the gap: 'Although the museum was due to close, the curator (1)_______ the visitors to stay a few minutes longer.'Show answer
Answer: Any verb meaning to let or encourage them to stay fits, for example 'allowed' or 'invited'.
Q3Complete the gap: 'The recipe called for two eggs, but Tom had only (1)_______ , so he halved the other ingredients too.'Show answer
Answer: one (a number is needed, and 'one' is the only value that makes halving the other ingredients logical)
Q4Complete the gap: 'She read the letter twice, unable to (1)_______ what it actually meant.'Show answer
Answer: Any verb suggesting she cannot comprehend or accept its meaning fits, for example 'understand' or 'work out'.
Q5Complete the gap: 'The path grew steadily (1)_______ as they climbed higher up the hillside.'Show answer
Answer: An adjective describing the path getting more difficult fits, for example 'steeper' or 'narrower'.
Q6Explain why, in an open cloze passage with no word bank, checking word class before thinking of an exact word saves time.Show answer
Answer: Because it immediately narrows the search to one type of word, such as only verbs or only adjectives, rather than testing every possible word regardless of whether it could even fit the sentence's grammar.
Q7In the sentence 'The crowd fell (1)_______ as the winner's name was announced', explain why 'silent' fits better than 'quiet', even though both are grammatically correct.Show answer
Answer: 'Silent' more strongly suggests a sudden, complete stop in noise at a dramatic moment, matching the announcement, whereas 'quiet' suggests a lower but not necessarily total level of noise, and 'fell silent' is also the far more natural, idiomatic phrase in English.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Complete the gap and explain your choice: 'The scientist studied the results for a long time before (1)_______ that the experiment had failed.' (2 marks)
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 2 available
Complete both gaps in this passage with your own suitable words, and briefly justify each: 'By the time the storm (1)_______ , half the village had lost power, and residents (2)_______ outside to inspect the damage to their roofs.' (4 marks)
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 4 available
A pupil completed the gap in 'The negotiations dragged on for months before the two sides finally reached (1)_______ .' with the word 'agreement'. Explain two reasons why this is a strong answer, then suggest one alternative word that would also fit. (3 marks)
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 3 available
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the cloze: practice set 2 worksheet pack - 10 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
This topic is chapter 20 of 11+ English Workbook 3, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
Next topics
Not quite what you needed?
Tell us what is missing on cloze: practice set 2, or which topic to write up next. Every request is read, and we reply to every one.
Build a full practice pack.
This topic is one of hundreds in the library - pick the ones a student needs and generate a printable PDF in minutes.