Cloze Passages

A cloze passage is a piece of text with some words missing. Your job is to fill in the gaps with the correct word. This type of question appears frequently in GL 11+ English papers and tests your vocabulary, grammar, and understanding of how English works.

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What Is a Cloze Passage?

In a cloze exercise, you are given a passage where certain words have been replaced by blanks (gaps). You must choose the best word to fill each gap — either from a list of options or by working it out yourself.

Example:

The ___ shone brightly in the blue ___. Birds were ___ in the trees, and a gentle ___ blew through the garden.

Answers: sun, sky, singing, breeze

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Types of Cloze Questions in the GL 11+

Type	What it looks like	What you do
Multiple choice	A list of options is given for each gap	Choose the best word from the list
Open cloze	No options are given	Think of the correct word yourself
Word bank	A list of words is given; you must place them in the correct gaps	Match words to gaps (use each word once)

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Skills Tested by Cloze Passages

Cloze passages test several skills at once:

Skill	How it is tested
Vocabulary	You need to know what words mean and which word fits best
Grammar	The word must be the right part of speech and the right form (e.g., tense, singular/plural)
Comprehension	You need to understand the meaning of the passage to choose the right word
Spelling	In open cloze, you must spell the word correctly
Context clues	You use the surrounding words to work out the missing word

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How to Tackle Cloze Passages: Step by Step

Step 1: Read the whole passage first

Before filling in any gaps, read the entire passage to get a general idea of what it is about. This gives you important context.

Step 2: Look at the words around each gap

The surrounding words are your biggest clue. Ask yourself:

• What part of speech is needed? (noun, verb, adjective, adverb?)
• What tense should the word be in?
• Does the word need to be singular or plural?
• What meaning makes sense here?

Step 3: Try each option (for multiple choice)

If you are given options, try putting each one into the gap. Read the whole sentence with each option to see which one:

• Makes grammatical sense
• Makes logical sense
• Fits the tone of the passage

Step 4: Check your answers

After filling in all the gaps, read the complete passage through. Does every sentence make sense? Does the passage flow smoothly?

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Worked Example 1: Multiple Choice

Read the passage and choose the best word for each gap:

The ancient castle stood on a steep (1) overlooking the sea. Its walls were thick and (2), built to withstand enemy attacks. A deep (3) surrounded the castle, filled with dark, murky water. Visitors today can still (4) the original drawbridge, which has survived for over five hundred years.

Options:

1. (a) cliff (b) road (c) lake (d) garden
2. (a) thin (b) colourful (c) sturdy (d) soft
3. (a) river (b) well (c) moat (d) stream
4. (a) destroy (b) ignore (c) build (d) see

Answers:

1. (a) cliff — a castle overlooks the sea from a cliff, not a road or lake.
2. (c) sturdy — the walls were built to "withstand enemy attacks," so they must be strong.
3. (c) moat — a moat is a deep ditch around a castle, which fits perfectly.
4. (d) see — visitors "today" can still see the drawbridge; the other verbs do not make sense in context.

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Worked Example 2: Open Cloze

Fill in each gap with a suitable word:

The forest was (1) and silent. Not a single bird (2) in the trees. Thick fog (3) between the trunks, making it (4) to see more than a few metres ahead. Ella walked (5), her heart beating fast.

Possible answers:

1. dark (or still, quiet) — fits the mood of the passage
2. sang (or called, chirped) — a verb describing what birds do in trees
3. drifted (or hung, swirled) — describes how fog moves
4. impossible (or difficult, hard) — explains why she could not see far
5. cautiously (or nervously, carefully) — her heart is beating fast, suggesting she is nervous