Verbal Reasoning: Meaning Set 5
Verbal Reasoning: Meaning Set 5 is the final and hardest practice round on closest-in-meaning, opposite-in-meaning and word-association double-meaning questions, using the most advanced vocabulary in this sequence and option sets built with two or three plausible near-matches at once, so precisely defining the given word before reading any option becomes essential rather than optional.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Read the word given and put its precise meaning into your own short definition before reading a single option, so later options cannot pull your thinking towards the wrong idea.
- Identify exactly which question type you are answering: closest in meaning, opposite in meaning, or a double-meaning question asking for one word that fits two different given definitions at once.
- For a double-meaning question, treat the two given definitions completely separately at first, listing a few candidate words for each, then look for the one word that appears on both lists.
- For closest or opposite questions, rank every option against your own definition rather than stopping at the first word that seems roughly connected to the topic.
- Where two or three options are all genuinely close in meaning to each other, decide which one matches the given word's precise strength and register, since the trap at this level is almost always a near-synonym of the near-synonym rather than an unrelated word.
- Confirm your final choice by substituting it back into a short sentence in place of the given word or its definition, checking that the sentence still carries the meaning you intended.
Worked example
Which word can mean both 'a strong physical need to drink' and 'an intense desire or craving for something, such as knowledge or success'? A) Hunger B) Thirst C) Desire D) Craving E) Appetite
- Take the first definition, a strong physical need to drink, and think of words that mean this: thirst is the specific everyday word for exactly this need, while hunger is the equivalent word for a need for food, not drink.
- Take the second definition, an intense desire or craving for something such as knowledge or success, and think of words that fit this figurative sense: thirst, hunger, desire and craving could all work here on their own.
- Compare the two lists: only THIRST appears clearly on both, since desire, craving and appetite do not fit the specific need-to-drink sense of the first definition at all.
- Check hunger once more: it fits the figurative second sense but not the literal first sense, which specifically names drinking rather than food, so hunger is a near-miss trap rather than the true answer. Final answer: B) Thirst.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Which word is closest in meaning to VORACIOUS (used to describe an appetite or desire)? A) Modest B) Insatiable C) Delicate D) Cautious E) OccasionalShow answer
Answer: B) Insatiable - voracious describes an appetite so huge it is never satisfied, matching insatiable most closely.
Q2Which word is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to MAGNANIMOUS? A) Generous B) Petty C) Proud D) Calm E) HonestShow answer
Answer: B) Petty - magnanimous means generous and forgiving, especially towards a rival, so its opposite is petty or small-minded.
Q3Which word can mean both 'a place where legal cases are judged' and 'to try to win someone's affection'? A) Judge B) Court C) Woo D) Trial E) CharmShow answer
Answer: B) Court - a law court is where legal cases are judged, and to court someone means to try to win their affection; woo and charm only fit the second meaning.
Q4Which word can mean both 'the side of a hill' and 'a steep, sloping surface used for skiing'? A) Cliff B) Slope C) Ridge D) Peak E) ValleyShow answer
Answer: B) Slope - a hillside is often called a slope, and a ski slope uses the same word for a sloping surface.
Q5Which word is closest in meaning to INSCRUTABLE? A) Obvious B) Mysterious C) Friendly D) Simple E) TalkativeShow answer
Answer: B) Mysterious - inscrutable means impossible to understand or interpret, matching mysterious most closely.
Q6Which word is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to TACITURN (describing someone who says very little)? A) Shy B) Talkative C) Quiet D) Serious E) CalmShow answer
Answer: B) Talkative - taciturn means reserved and saying little, so its opposite is talkative; shy and quiet are close in meaning to taciturn, not opposite to it.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
BENEVOLENT is closest in meaning to which of these, and which word in the same list is its opposite? A) Malicious B) Kind C) Wealthy D) Calm E) Honest.
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SEAL can mean both 'a marine mammal' and 'to close something tightly so nothing can get in or out'. Write one sentence using SEAL in the first sense, one sentence using SEAL in the second sense, and then give one word that is nearly opposite to SEAL in its 'close something tightly' sense.
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Which word is closest in meaning to OBSEQUIOUS, and why do the other four options not fit as well? A) Rude B) Servile C) Confident D) Generous E) Distant.
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Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the verbal reasoning: meaning set 5 worksheet pack - 12 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 23 of 11+ Verbal Reasoning Workbook 3, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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