Fill in the Blanks
🔒 Log in to trackConfusable and homonym blanks
🔒 Log in to trackSome words look or sound almost the same but mean different things, like advice and advise. The options give you such a pair or group. First find what kind of word the blank needs (noun, verb or adjective). Then choose by meaning.
Two steps: word type, then meaning
Confusable blanks give words that differ by one letter or one sound.
Example: The doctor gave me sound ___. After "sound" we need a noun. advice is the noun; advise is the verb.
- Word type. Does the blank need a noun, a verb or an adjective? If the sentence already has its verb, the blank is often a noun.
- Meaning. If two options are the same word type, ask what the sentence must say. Find the clue word.
Rule: After a, the, his or an adjective → noun. After to, will, did or a subject → verb.
Noun and verb twins
In British and Indian spelling, many pairs end in -ce for the noun and -se for the verb.
| Noun | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| advice | advise | follow his advice; doctors advise rest |
| practice | practise | daily practice helps; practise daily |
| licence | license | a driving licence; licensed premises |
| belief / proof | believe / prove | a strong belief; prove it |
| bath | bathe | take a bath; bathe the child |
| effect (result) | affect (influence) | the effect was clear; rains affect crops |
Effect can also be a verb meaning "bring about" (effect a change). Advice has no plural; "advices" is wrong.
Meaning twins
| Word | Meaning | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| lose | misplace, fail to win | loose | not tight |
| stationary | not moving | stationery | paper, pens |
| principal | chief, head; also the loan amount | principle | a rule or belief |
| complement | completes | compliment | praise |
| discreet | careful | discrete | separate |
| eligible | qualified | illegible | cannot be read |
| beside | next to | besides | in addition to |
| censure | formal rebuke | censor | ban or cut content |
| continual | repeated, with breaks | continuous | without a break |
| practical | useful in practice | practicable | workable |
| personnel | staff | personal | private |
Tip: stationERy = papER. principLE = ruLE.
Groups of three
- site (place), sight (vision), cite (quote): a building site, at first sight, cite a case.
- allusion (reference), illusion (false picture), elusion (escape).
- assure a person (remove doubt), ensure a result (make certain), insure a thing (buy a policy). The noun of assure is assurance: a solemn assurance.
- lie (recline): lie, lay, lain. lay (put something down): lay, laid, laid. Lie down; lay the pen on the table.
Decoys that are not real words
Some options are wrong forms: advices, affection in place of effect, effectively in place of effect. Remove them by grammar first, then by meaning.
Why these are easy marks
Only one word of each pair means what the sentence needs. Read carefully once. Find the clue word (shop, head, rule, praise, rebuke) before you look at the options.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Noun and verb twins (-ce / -se)
The options are advice / advise, practice / practise or licence / license. Look at the word just before the blank.
Decide the word type: after a / the / an adjective → noun; after to / a subject → verb.
Pick the matching twin: advice (noun), advise (verb).
Read the phrase back: 'sound advice', 'advise someone'.
The twins sound alike and differ only in word type, which the neighbouring word shows.
The dietician gave me sound ___ on portion control.
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'Sound' is an adjective, so a noun follows.
The noun is 'advice'.
'Advise' is a verb and cannot follow an adjective.
advice
lose / loose and affect / effect
The sentence is about misplacing, tightness, influence or results. The options are the look-alikes plus related words.
lose = fail to keep; loose = not tight.
affect = verb (influence); effect = noun (result).
Will / can before the blank → verb; a / an / the before it → noun.
These pairs are one letter apart, so the word before the blank must decide.
The new timings will ___ train schedules across the zone.
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'Will' is followed by a verb.
The meaning is 'influence'.
The verb for influence is 'affect'.
affect
stationary / stationery and principal / principle
The sentence is about an office, a shop, movement, rules or the head of an institution. The options are the twin spellings.
Paper and pens → stationery. Not moving → stationary.
Rule or belief → principle. Head, chief or loan amount → principal.
Use the memory hooks: stationERy = papER; principLE = ruLE.
The twins differ by one letter but have unrelated meanings; the clue word forces the choice.
The office buys its ___ from the shop near the station.
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An office buys paper and pens.
Paper and pens = stationery.
Stationary means 'not moving'.
stationery
censure / censor and allusion / illusion
The sentence is about parliament, films, books, references or appearances. The options are these look-alikes.
Formal rebuke → censure. Ban or cut content → censor.
Reference → allusion. False picture → illusion. Escape → elusion.
Match the clue word (House, film, poem, mirage) to the meaning.
Both pairs are formal words, so only the exact meaning separates them.
The House ___ the minister for his careless remark.
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The House scolded the minister formally.
A formal rebuke = censure.
Censor is for films and books, not for people's conduct.
censured
assure / ensure / insure
The options are assure, ensure and insure (or their nouns). The sentence is about promises, results or insurance.
Is a person being told not to worry? → assure.
Is a result being made certain? → ensure.
Is a thing covered by a policy? → insure.
All three sound alike, but each has its own object: a person, a result or a thing.
Please ___ that all windows are shut before you leave the lab.
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The sentence asks you to make a result certain.
Make certain = ensure.
Assure needs a person; insure needs a policy.
ensure
continual / continuous and practical / practicable
The options are adjective pairs with the same root: continual / continuous, practical / practicable, personal / personnel.
continual = repeated with breaks; continuous = without a break.
practical = useful in real life; practicable = workable, can be done.
personal = private; personnel = staff.
The shared root makes the pair look equal; the exact meaning in the sentence decides.
The ___ hum of the generator kept us awake all night.
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The hum did not stop even once.
Without a break = continuous.
Continual would mean it stopped and started again.
continuous
beside / besides and lie / lay
The options are beside / besides, or forms of lie and lay (lie, lay, lain, laid).
beside = next to; besides = in addition to.
lie (recline): lie, lay, lain. lay (put down): lay, laid, laid.
If there is an object being put somewhere, use lay.
Each word in the pair has one meaning, and the sentence always shows which.
___ English, she can speak Tamil and Bengali.
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The sentence adds more languages to English.
In addition to = besides.
Beside means 'next to'.
Besides
Shortcuts that save time
Decide noun, verb or adjective from the sentence. Remove every option of the wrong type. Usually only two options are left for the meaning check.
The doctor ___ him to take complete rest. (advised / advice / advices / advise)
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The sentence has no other verb, so the blank is a past-tense verb.
Advice is a noun and 'advices' is not standard.
Advise is present tense; the sentence is in the past.
advised
Make a quick mental picture. A shop full of paper and pens → stationery. A parked van → stationary.
Make flash cards for groups: assure / ensure / insure, site / sight / cite, allusion / illusion / elusion. These appear together in options.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Choosing the more familiar 'affect' when the slot needs a noun.
After a / an / the, use the noun 'effect'.
Treating advice and advise as the same word.
advice = noun, advise = verb. Check the slot.
Picking 'illegible' when the sentence is about being qualified.
Qualified = eligible. Illegible = cannot be read.
Missing that the sentence already has its verb.
If the verb is already there, the blank is usually a noun.
Choosing a form that does not exist, such as 'advices'.
Advice has no plural. Remove non-standard forms first.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Word type first (noun / verb / adjective), then meaning.
advice, practice, licence = nouns; advise, practise, license = verbs.
affect = verb (influence); effect = noun (result).
lose = misplace; loose = not tight. stationary = still; stationery = paper.
principal = chief or head; principle = rule. complement completes; compliment praises.
assure a person, ensure a result, insure a thing.
censure = rebuke; censor = ban. continual = with breaks; continuous = unbroken.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 6 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.