Verbal Reasoning: Word Skills and Analogies Depth
Verbal Reasoning: Word Skills and Analogies Depth gathers the harder end of the vocabulary-based question types used in 11+ GL Assessment and CEM papers: word analogies, double meanings, spelling-based word relationships and category questions, mixed together at raised difficulty using less common vocabulary and relationships that need precise wording rather than a rough guess. The shared skill across this set is naming the exact relationship in precise words before looking at the options, since a vague sense of a link is not enough to separate the right answer from a close distractor.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- For any analogy, state the relationship between the first pair in a full sentence, for example 'X is made from Y', before reading the options.
- Check that your sentence works in the same direction for the second pair, since which word comes first in a pair always matters.
- For double-meaning questions, write down both definitions given and think of two or three candidate words separately for each, then look for the word that appears on both lists.
- For spelling-based relationships, such as letters reversed or a prefix added, check the rule against every letter of the given pair, not just the first or last.
- For category questions, name the shared category in one or two words, then check that every remaining item genuinely fits it, not just loosely relates to it.
- Reject any option that matches the general topic but not the precise relationship, since these near-miss distractors are what this depth of question is designed to test.
Worked example
BREAD is to FLOUR as CHEESE is to ?
- State the relationship for the first pair: bread is made from flour, its main raw ingredient.
- Apply the same relationship to the second pair: cheese is made from milk, its main raw ingredient.
- Check the other likely-looking words: cream and butter are dairy products made from milk, not the base ingredient itself, and cow is the source animal, not the material.
- Final answer: Milk.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Choose the word closest in meaning to FRAGILE. A) sturdy B) delicate C) heavy D) careless E) plainShow answer
Answer: B) delicate
Q2Choose the word most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to TIMID. A) Shy B) Nervous C) Bold D) Quiet E) CarefulShow answer
Answer: C) Bold
Q3Which ONE word means both 'a piece of jewellery worn on a finger' and 'the sound a bell or telephone makes'? A) BELL B) RING C) CHIME D) BAND E) TONEShow answer
Answer: B) RING - a ring is worn on a finger, and to ring is the sound a bell makes
Q4(SAW, WAS) (TEN, NET) (TAP, ?) - each pair reverses the letters of the first word to make the second. What completes the third pair?Show answer
Answer: PAT (TAP spelled backwards is PAT)
Q5FIRE ( ) WORK. Choose the missing word that completes FIRE and begins WORK. A) Place B) Wood C) Man D) Fly E) ArmShow answer
Answer: B) Wood - FIREWOOD and WOODWORK
Q6Here are five words: VIOLIN, TRUMPET, HAMMER, CELLO, WRENCH. Three of these five words share something in common. Which TWO words do NOT belong with the other three?Show answer
Answer: HAMMER and WRENCH (they are tools; VIOLIN, TRUMPET and CELLO are all musical instruments)
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Work out the relationship in each pair, then choose the option that completes the second pair the same way. a) CANDLE is to WAX as BALLOON is to ? - A) Rubber B) Air C) Helium D) String E) Party. b) SINGER is to SONG as POET is to ? - A) Poem B) Rhyme C) Book D) Verse E) Stanza.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 4 available
(READ, REREAD) (WRITE, REWRITE) (BUILD, ?) - each pair adds the same prefix to the first word to make the second. What completes the third pair, and what is the rule?
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 verbal reasoning: word skills and analogies depth worksheet pack - 14 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 15 of 11+ Verbal Reasoning Workbook 3, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
Next topics
Not quite what you needed?
Tell us what is missing on verbal reasoning: word skills and analogies depth, 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.