English: Words in Context

In these questions, you get a passage with numbered lines. The question picks out one word, tells you which line it's on, and asks which word is closest in meaning to it. Then you get five words to choose from.

The meaning that counts is the one the word has in this passage.

In GL's papers some of the wrong words fit the sentence too, so making sense isn't enough on its own. The video above and the worked example below work through the same question, with the options in the same order.

The method

Four steps: go to the line, say what it means here, swap each option in, keep the same meaning.

Worked example

This passage is the true story of Mary Anning, a girl who found fossils in the cliffs by the sea, more than two hundred years ago.

46 The scientists studied them and wrote about
47 them, but few gave Mary any credit. Her name

Which word is closest in meaning to “credit” in line 47?

A. recognition B. money C. help D. permission E. advice

1. Go to the line. Line 47 tells you where to look. Find credit on that line. Its sentence starts on the line before, so go back to the start, and read all of it: The scientists studied them and wrote about them, but few gave Mary any credit.
2. Say what it means here. Credit has more than one meaning. It can mean money, like in a bank. But read on for clues. Her name was often left out of what they wrote. So here, credit is about her name: being named and praised for what she found. Keep that meaning in your head.
3. Swap each option in. Put each one in the word's place, then read the line again. Few gave Mary any recognition. Any money. Any help. Any permission. Any advice. Every one of them fits the sentence. So making sense can't pick the answer on its own.
4. Keep the same meaning. Check each option against your meaning. Option A: recognition means being named and praised for what you've done. That's the same meaning. Keep it. Option B: money is credit's other meaning, the one we didn't want. And line 45 says they bought her finds, so she was paid. It fits, but the meaning changes. So B is out. Option C: help means doing things for her, not naming her. The meaning changes, so C is out. Option D: permission comes from line 50, where she wasn't allowed to join the society. That's a different idea, from a different line. So D is out. Option E: advice means telling her what to do. That changes the meaning too, so E is out. Only one option keeps the meaning.

Answer: A — recognition (being named and praised for what you've done)

Things to watch out for

1. “It fits” isn't enough. Here, a tramp stands and gazes. Glances fits the line too: a tramp who stands and glances. But to gaze is to look at something for a long time, and a glance is a quick look. The line still makes sense, but the meaning has changed. Stares keeps it the same.
2. Words have more than one meaning. You may know stole as took without asking. But here, the Giant stole up behind the little boy. Up behind him tells you how he moved. And just before, he crept downstairs and opened the door quite softly. So here, stole means moved quietly.
3. Don't be fooled by words about the topic. This passage is about the frozen River Thames. Shallow, narrow, muddy, deep: they're all river words, and they all fit the line. But sluggish is about how the water moves. The piers held the water back, and sluggish water is set against fast-flowing water. So sluggish means slow.

Related

• The complete 11+ question-type guide
• English: The Writer's Choices — work out what a writer's words show
• English: Finding What the Passage Says — look back and prove it from the text
• English: Choose the Best Word — pick the word that fits the gap

All example questions come from the Brainblox question bank — practise this question type inside 25+ learning games, timed mock exams and focused practice. Brainblox is an independent app: not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by any exam board, school or assessment publisher, and it contains no past papers.