PTE Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks
A passage with several gaps, each offering a drop-down list of options. It feeds Reading and Writing, which makes it the highest-value item in this part of the test.
Collocation decides most gaps
The options usually include more than one word with the right meaning, and only one that belongs with the words around it. "Make a decision" and "do a decision" are both comprehensible; only one is English.
- Read the whole sentence before opening the drop-down.
- Check the word before and after the gap — prepositions and articles decide most of these.
- Check the word class the slot needs.
- Read the completed sentence back.
No penalty, so fill everything
There is no negative marking on this item, so every gap gets an answer. Where two options both sound possible, choose the one that collocates more strongly rather than the one with the more precise meaning — this item is testing the former.
Do not spend the time you have saved elsewhere on one stubborn gap. Each gap is a point, and there are more gaps ahead.
Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks — FAQs
2 questions
No. This one has drop-downs and feeds two scores; the other asks you to drag words from a bank.
No. Fill every gap.
More reading question types
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.