Home of English Grammar

Grammar Guide
  • Home
  • Exercises
  • Rules
  • Test Yourself
  • Tools
    • Grammar Checker
    • Word Counter
  • Top Social Media Posts
  • Vocabulary
  • Writing Guides
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Words / Confusing Words Exercise

Confusing Words Exercise

February 6, 2019 - pdf

Fill in the blanks.

1. She was in such a …………………………. She didn’t know to whom to turn.

Correct! Wrong!

When you are in a quandary, you are in a dilemma.

2. The dictator’s army …………………………. the rebellion.

Correct! Wrong!

All of these words can mean suppress or crush.

3. The door was …………………………… left open.

Correct! Wrong!

Purposely means deliberately.

4. The student ……………………………. studied all night in order to secure good grades.

Correct! Wrong!

When you do something purposefully, you do it with a specific goal in mind.

5. If he drank too much he would become ……………………………..

Correct! Wrong!

Pugnacious means quarrelsome.

6. His …………………………….. remarks started an argument.

Correct! Wrong!

The correct expression is provocative.

7. ………………………………… laws discouraged the drug trade.

Correct! Wrong!

Both words mean the same; prohibitive means restrictive.

8. The family’s …………………………… was pitiable.

Correct! Wrong!

Privation means poverty.

9. He had nothing left of his inheritance because of his ………………………………… ways.

Correct! Wrong!

All of these words mean wasteful.

10. It took a great deal of …………………………. to insult the mayor at his own party.

Correct! Wrong!

All of these words mean the same.

11. His mother’s work as a nurse ……………………………… him to become a doctor.

Correct! Wrong!

To predispose is to encourage or urge.

12. My family takes …………………………….. over my work.

Correct! Wrong!

Precedence means importance.

Answers

  1. She was in such a quandary. She didn’t know to whom to turn.
  2. The dictator’s army quashed / squashed / quelled the rebellion.
  3. The door was purposely left open.
  4. The student purposefully studied all night in order to secure good grades.
  5. If he drank too much he would become pugnacious.
  6. His provocative remarks started an argument.
  7. Prohibitive / prohibitory laws discouraged the drug trade.
  8. The family’s privation was pitiable.
  9. He had nothing left of his inheritance because of his prodigal / spendthrift / wanton ways.
  10. It took a great deal of presumption / audacity / impertinence to insult the mayor at his own party.
  11. His mother’s work as a nurse predisposed him to become a doctor.
  12. My family takes precedence over my work.
  • Share
  • Post
  • Post
  • Email
2,485,429 
735,807 

Grammar Checker

GrammarCheck.net - Try online
Hint → Bookmark GrammarCheck for future use.

Latest Exercises

  • Prepositions Exercise for ESL Students November 30, 2025
  • B1 Level Grammar Exercise November 29, 2025
  • ESL Grammar Exercise – Prepositions And Conjunctions November 28, 2025
  • Enough, Too, So November 27, 2025
  • Relative Pronouns And Adverbs Exercise November 24, 2025
  • Tenses in Subordinate Clauses ESL Grammar Exercise November 22, 2025
  • Gap Filling General Grammar Exercise November 21, 2025
  • Intermediate Level ESL Grammar Exercise Gap Filling November 20, 2025
  • Gerund vs. Infinitive ESL Grammar Exercise November 19, 2025

Copyright © 2025 · EnglishGrammar.org
Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Sitemap