In vocabulary close, this is the part on paper of a short story with an underlying word that you have to match the meaning as closely as possible. Your answer has to meet the same needs in the same context. Context and meaning are the two keys to getting the questions right. 

For example, some words spelt similarly like the word lead. 

It could mean:

(1) Lead is an incredibly useful metal.

(2) He took the lead in the race.

Without context, you won’t be able to tell the meaning of the word. Using thesaurus does not always work because it does not know the context of the sentence, and it can only provide a list of possible answers to the word. 

Let’s take a look at a Vocabulary Cloze question below: 

Instructions: 

Choose the word closest in meaning to the underlined words. Write the correct answer in each blank. 

1. I blinked back my tears as I stared woodenly at my father’s watch. It lay in pieces on my table. I felt as if there were a large, cold stone in my belly. Guilt washed over me in waves. How would I ever be able to face my father and confess what I had done?

(1) confide

(2) divulge 

(3) concede

(4) admit 

Correct Answer: (4) admit

Explanation: 

(1) Confide

Confide means to tell something secret or personal to someone whom you trust not to tell anyone else. 

This is where the word confidential derived from.

(2) Divulge 

To divulge is to make something secret known. 

(3) Concede 

To concede is to admit, often unwillingly, that something is true. 

Although concede is similar to admit, the word concede is more like admitting to having lost something or to be defeated, like a contest or a race. 

(4) Admit

Admit means unwillingly agreeing to something true.

So, if someone does something wrong, he or she should be admitting they are wrong. 

Conclusion

Did you get the correct answer? Or are you tricked by the choices given? Join our trial class as our teachers explain this question and other similar questions so you will never be stumped by the Vocabulary Cloze section again.