English Vocabulary Exercises with Answers: 60 Practice Questions

Quick Answer: Effective English vocabulary exercises test whether you can use a word, not only translate it: collocations, word forms, opposites, phrasal verbs and confusing pairs. This page has 60 questions in six sets, each with an answer key and short explanations. Do one set at a time, write down every word you miss, and review those words after one day and again after a week.

Key takeaways

• Learn words in chunks and collocations, such as "make a decision", not as single items.
• Practice word families: decide, decision, decisive, decisively.
• Confusing pairs like "say" and "tell" or "borrow" and "lend" deserve their own practice.
• Phrasal verbs are essential for everyday spoken English.
• Spaced review of missed words matters more than the number of new words.
• After each set, write your own sentence for every word you got wrong.

How to use these exercises

Each set has ten questions and an answer key directly below. Cover the answers, write your responses, then check. Copy every missed item into a notebook or flashcard app with a full example sentence. Our guide on how to learn English vocabulary explains how to turn that list into lasting memory, and spaced repetition explains the review schedule.

Set 1: Collocations with make, do, take and have

Tip: "make" is often about creating or producing, "do" about tasks and work, "take" about time, photos and actions like a shower, and "have" about meals and experiences. Many cases simply have to be learned. Full guide: make vs do.

1. ___ a mistake
2. ___ your homework
3. ___ a photo
4. ___ breakfast
5. ___ a decision
6. ___ the shopping
7. ___ a break
8. ___ a good time
9. ___ an effort
10. ___ someone a favor

Answers

1. make
2. do
3. take
4. have
5. make. "Take a decision" is also used in British English, but "make" is far more common.
6. do
7. take, or have in British English.
8. have
9. make
10. do

Set 2: Opposites

Tip: many English opposites use prefixes (un-, in-, im-, dis-), but common everyday adjectives often have a completely different word.

Write the opposite.

1. cheap
2. polite
3. possible
4. agree (verb)
5. noisy
6. arrive
7. remember
8. tidy
9. deep
10. honest

Answers

1. expensive
2. impolite, or rude
3. impossible. "Im-" is used before p, b and m.
4. disagree
5. quiet
6. leave, or depart
7. forget
8. untidy, or messy
9. shallow
10. dishonest

Set 3: Word forms

Tip: check what the gap needs. After "a", "the" or an adjective you need a noun; before a noun you need an adjective; to describe a verb you need an adverb.

Complete with the right form of the word in brackets.

1. She made a quick ___. (decide)
2. He drives very ___. (care)
3. This film is really ___. (bore)
4. I was ___ by the ending. (surprise)
5. Thank you for your ___. (help, adjective form: "Thank you for being ___")
6. The ___ of this bridge took five years. (construct)
7. Smoking is ___ to your health. (harm)
8. We need to ___ our English. (improvement)
9. She is a very ___ singer. (success)
10. Her ___ was obvious when she won. (happy)

Answers

1. decision
2. carefully. An adverb describes how he drives.
3. boring. -ing describes the thing that causes the feeling.
4. surprised. -ed describes how a person feels.
5. helpful. "Thank you for being helpful."
6. construction
7. harmful
8. improve. "To" needs a verb.
9. successful
10. happiness

Set 4: Everyday phrasal verbs

Tip: a phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle with a new meaning. Learn them with an object and an example. Guide: everyday phrasal verbs.

Choose the particle: up, off, on, out, after, down.

1. Please turn ___ the lights when you leave.
2. I need to look ___ this word in the dictionary.
3. Can you look ___ my cat while I'm away?
4. Put ___ your coat. It's cold.
5. The plane took ___ on time.
6. We ran ___ of milk, so I went to the shop.
7. Please sit ___.
8. I gave ___ smoking last year.
9. Hold ___, I'll be back in a second.
10. She found ___ the truth from a friend.

Answers

1. off
2. up
3. after. "Look after" means take care of.
4. on
5. off
6. out
7. down
8. up. "Give up" means stop doing.
9. on. "Hold on" means wait.
10. out. "Find out" means discover information.

Set 5: Confusing words

Tip: these pairs are confusing because many languages use one word for both meanings. Learn each with its typical pattern. See also say vs tell.

1. Can you ___ me the time? (say, tell)
2. Can I ___ your pen? (borrow, lend)
3. Could you ___ me some money until Friday? (borrow, lend)
4. I ___ my phone at home. (forgot, left)
5. We ___ the bus by two minutes. (lost, missed)
6. She ___ a lot of money as a lawyer. (wins, earns)
7. Please ___ me to buy bread. (remember, remind)
8. The film was very ___. I laughed a lot. (fun, funny)
9. I'm ___ in history. (interested, interesting)
10. He ___ me that he was tired. (said, told)

Answers

1. tell. "Tell" takes a person directly: tell someone something.
2. borrow. You receive it.
3. lend. You give it temporarily.
4. left. When you name the place, use "leave". "I forgot my phone" is correct without a place.
5. missed
6. earns. You earn money by working; you win prizes or games.
7. remind. Another person helps you remember.
8. funny. It made you laugh. "Fun" means enjoyable.
9. interested. The person's feeling.
10. told. "Told" needs a person; "said" does not: "He said that he was tired."

Turkish speakers should also check our list of false friends between English and Turkish.

Set 6: Topic vocabulary

Tip: grouping words by topic makes them easier to recall in real situations. Fill each gap with one word.

1. At the airport, you show your ___ at passport control.
2. In a restaurant, you ask the waiter for the ___ at the end of the meal. (American English)
3. Your mother's brother is your ___.
4. The opposite of a "single room" in a hotel is a ___ room.
5. When it's very hot and wet, the weather is ___.
6. The part of your body between your hand and your arm is your ___.
7. If you feel worried about a test, you feel ___.
8. You pay at the ___ in a supermarket.
9. The day after Wednesday is ___.
10. A person who flies a plane is a ___.

Answers

1. passport
2. check. British English uses "bill".
3. uncle
4. double
5. humid
6. wrist
7. nervous, or anxious
8. checkout
9. Thursday
10. pilot

For more themed lists, see weather vocabulary, family members vocabulary and feelings and emotions vocabulary.

Scoring and what to do next

Score out of 60	Next step
50 to 60	Strong everyday vocabulary. Move on to idioms and less frequent words.
35 to 49	Good base. Focus on the set where you lost most points.
Under 35	Build core vocabulary first with the most common English words.

How LearnLingo helps you build vocabulary

A list on a page is a one-time test. Vocabulary sticks when you meet words again at the right moment. LearnLingo is a free browser course where Sage the Turtle, a wise old turtle with a long memory, teaches words this way:

• Audio with every word, so you learn pronunciation together with spelling.
• Matching pairs connect words to meanings quickly.
• Word banks and gap-fill put new words inside full sentences, which builds collocations naturally.
• Spaced practice of mistakes brings back words you missed before you forget them.
• Hearts, streaks, XP and weekly leagues keep your daily habit going.
• Turkish native-language support helps Turkish speakers with meanings and false friends.

CEFR A1 is available now, and A2 to B2 are in progress, so some words in these sets go beyond the current course. Explore the free English vocabulary hub, or start learning with Sage.

People Also Ask

What are good English vocabulary exercises?

Good exercises make you use words, not just recognize them: gap-fill in context, collocation matching, word-form changes and choosing between confusing pairs. Exercises with an answer key and short explanations are the most useful for self-study.

How many new English words should I learn a day?

Five to fifteen new words a day is realistic for most learners, if you also review older words. Learning fewer words well, in phrases, beats long lists you forget.

What is a collocation in English?

A collocation is a pair or group of words that naturally go together, such as make a mistake, heavy rain or fast food. Native speakers expect these combinations, so learning them makes your English sound natural.

How do I remember vocabulary after doing exercises?

Review the words you got wrong after one day, then after a few days, then after a week. This spaced review, plus using each word in your own sentence, is what moves vocabulary into long-term memory.

Does LearnLingo have vocabulary practice?

Yes. LearnLingo lessons teach words with audio, matching pairs, word banks and gap-fill, and words you miss come back in spaced practice. CEFR A1 is available now, with A2 to B2 in progress.