Download Sentence Completion Practice Test 2024: Free Printable PDF. Enhance your preparation for standardized exams in the United States with our Sentence Completion Practice Test, available as a free printable PDF. This test includes a series of sample questions and detailed explanations designed to improve your vocabulary and understanding of sentence structure.
The practice test is an excellent resource for anyone looking to sharpen their language skills and excel in sentence completion tasks commonly found in various standardized exams. Download now and start preparing more effectively with our expertly crafted practice questions and answers.
| Practice Test Name | Sentence Completion |
| Test Category | English Grammar |
| Question Type | Multiple Choice |
| Type of Test | Standardized |
| Difficulty Level | High School |
| Printable/Editable File Available | Yes PDF & DOC |
| Total Question | 19 |
| Explanation | Available |
Directions: Each blank in the following sentences indicates something has been omitted. Consider the lettered words beneath the sentence and choose the word or set of words that best fits the whole sentence.
Q1. Loved and hated by thousands, Dr. Lucy Bertram may well be the most __________ physician ever to become surgeon general.
The adjective here should pick up the implications of “loved” and “hated,” not just one or the other. The word “controversial” A accounts for both. The other choices are not specifically related in any way to the rest of the sentence.
Q2. Over thousands of years, organisms have __________ many strategies to conserve water.
You need a verb here describing the action of organisms with a meaning like “developed” or “discovered.” The best choice is B “evolved,” developed gradually, which also fits well with the detail of “thousands of years.” The wrong answers describe too conscious an action.
Q3. My cat is a creature of contradictions: __________ yet affectionate, __________ yet alert. A. aloof . . . dreamy
Here you need words that are contradictory to the two givens: “affectionate” and “alert.” “Aloof” A, “cruel” B, or “selfish” D are possible first
words, but “shrewd” B, “lively” C, and “nimble” D are not contradictions of “alert,” so the only possible right answer is A.
Q4. __________ for talking too much, the teacher __________ his reputation by keeping the class 30 minutes longer than the scheduled class time.
The first adjective offers a choice among five, any one of which would fit the first phrase. Because this fame is for an unfavorably regarded trait, however, the best choice is “notorious.” A hero is “famous,” “renowned,” “illustrious,” or “eminent,” but a man who talks too much is “notorious.” Because the action described confirms the reputation for long-windedness, “verified” is the only possible choice of the verbs
Q5. If Senator Montana runs for reelection next year, she will have the moneyraising advantage of the __________.
You know that Montana already is a senator who may run for reelection. Therefore, she is the “incumbent,” the holder of an office. The details of the sentence support this choice. Although the other nouns are not wholly unsuitable, none of them has any real connection with the details in the rest of the sentence.
Q6. Using his own home as ______, Marlowe obtained a private loan that enabled him to _____ his financial obligations to the other partners and emerge free of debt.
The first noun must be a term that refers to what is pledged to obtain a loan, a word like “pledge,” or “surety,” or “collateral,” or “deposit.” Only “profit” D can be eliminated. The verb must mean liquidate or get rid of because he emerges “free of debt.” Only “discharge” C is left when you eliminate A, B, and E. This confirms the sense of “collateral” being the best of the four available nouns.
Q7. The absurdist as opposed to the heroic treatment of war reached maturity in Catch-22, and the Vietnam War made this approach, which seemed so __________ and shocking, the only way to write about that conflict.
The missing word describes “absurdist” fiction and is parallel to the word shocking. Clearly, “banal” A, “plausible” C, “cozy” D, and “familiar” E will not do. The adjective “radical” means favoring fundamental change or very leftist.
Q8. Because the issue is so insignificant, it was surprising that the disagreement among city council members was so ____.
The sense of the sentence calls for an adjective expressing strong feelings because the writer is surprised by this response to an “insignificant” issue.The only choice D is logical.
Q9. Many thought Billy Eckstine’s band _______ because its musicians were young, avant-garde jazzmen, while itslead singer crooned _______ popular ballads.
The sentence describes a division in the band, avant-garde instrumentalists and a popular-ballad crooner, so the first adjective should account for this split. The word “progressive” A fits only the band, and “old-fashioned” B and “predictable” E fit the singer. The word “inconsistent” is the best of the choices. The second adjective should describe “popular ballads,” and all except B “unique” will do.
Q10. It is ________ to assume that if aspirin can prevent second heart attacks, it can also ______ an attack in the first place.
The “also” in the second half of the sentence signals that the verb is parallel to “prevent” in the first half. You can eliminate C and D. The first adjective must mean something like reasonable or sensible, so B “logical” is a better choice than A “fanciful” or E “idle,” which mean just the opposite.
Q11. Cigars are not a safe ________ to cigarettes because, though cigar smokers do not inhale, they are still ________ higher rates of lung and mouth cancers than nonsmoker
The first noun must mean something like substitute but a word that will fit with the preposition “to.” Choice A “answer” is possible, C “alternative” is a good answer, and D “rejoinder” might work. The phrase “responsible for” A makes little sense in this context, and “involved in” D is awkward. The phrase “subject to” is clearly the best of the three and C the best of the five choices
Q12. Justices Marshall and Brennan opposed the death penalty on the grounds that it failed to __________ crimes, since all the available evidence made it clear that far more murders per capita were committed in states or countries with capital punishment than in thosewithout it.
The logic of the sentence suggests that the missing verb must mean something like prevent or decrease. Choices B “augment” (increase) and C “foster” are the opposite of what is needed. Neither “explain” A nor “exculpate” E (excuse) makes much sense, although “deter” (discourage, keep from doing) fits well.
Q13. After the smoke and __________ of the city, Mr. Fitzgerald was glad to return to the __________ air and peace of the mountains.
The sentence opposes the unpleasant smoke,_________, and “city” with the _________ “air and peace of the mountains,” so the first blank must be a noun similar in effect to “smoke,” and the second blank requires an adjective with pleasant denotation. In A and B the nouns are possible, but the adjectives are not. In C and D, the noun choices cannot fit. Choice E correctly has the bad “hustle-bustle” and the good “exhilarating.”
Q14. A strike by Ford workers in Mexico poses a(n) __________ for the ruling party, which must choose between alienating its union ally or undermining its fight against inflation.
A situation requiring the choice between two unpleasant alternatives is the definition of the word “dilemma” and what this sentence describes. Some of the other choices are plausible, but because “dilemma” so exactly fits the situation, it is clearly the best.
Q15. By combining an American cartoon character with Japanese traditions, the popular comic by Stan Sakai presents as a hero a samurai rabbit, a unique __________ of East and West.
The word “combining” should alert you to look for a noun here that denotes a coming together of East and West. Choices B, C, and D are clearly wrong. Choice A “fusion,” the union of different things, fits well.
Q16. A _________ that allowed voters to decide on the legality of casino gambling was passed by a(n) _______ 9-to-1 margin.
The noun referring to “what allowed voters to decide” on an issue could be “statute” A, “referendum” B (the most precise word), or “bill” D. The missing adverb that describes the nine-to-one win must denote a very resounding margin of victory. Neither “meager” A nor “narrow” D will do. Again, the best answer uses the most specific noun as well as the most suitable adverb.
Q17. The __________ upon which this fine novel is developed with great __________ and intelligence is that nomales live beyond the age of 18.
The first blank requires a noun describing something a novel is based on. Choices A, C, and D are possible. B and E are eliminated by the use of “upon which.” The second word must praise the book because it is parallel with “intelligence” and the novel has been called “fine.” Choices A and C must be eliminated, and only D remains.
Q18. The __________ use of washing machines and automobiles in the Middle Ages is part of the comedy of this high-spirited film.
The adjective “anachronistic” means representing something as existing at other than its proper time, such as a washing machine in the Middle Ages or a knight in armor at a football game. Choice A is a possibility, although B is more exact.
Q19. Hoping to escape detection, Minnie __________ placed an ace in her sleeve while Rance shuffled the cards.
Because she hoped to be undetected, she had to hide the card “furtively,” that is, stealthily or surreptitiously. The words “brazenly” A and “overtly” B contradict the opening phrase.
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