Acquiring a strong vocabulary base is crucial to success at the 11+.
Over the past couple of weeks, we have studied a large number of past 11+ comprehension and verbal reasoning papers, and based on this, we have selected the below words that are commonly tested and should be learnt.
The words in the first list have multiple meanings and can be both verbs and nouns depending on the context. Sometimes they can even be pronounced differently.
The words in the second list have a different spelling depending on the meaning. The words with an asterisk indicate a different pronunciation.
List of Common Difficult Words For 11+ Verbal Reasoning
List 1
- Concentrated
- Grave
- Contest
- Permit
- Suspect
- Harbour
- Object
- Company
- Sow
- Contract
- Convict
List 2
- Aisle / isle
- Complement / compliment
- Council / to counsel
- Desert / dessert *
- To ensure / to insure *
- Principal / principle
- Storey / story
- To envelop / envelope *
A good exercise to aid your child’s vocabulary development is to ask them to look up the meanings for each word, and then write a full sentence for each word using it in the right context.
For further information on preparation for the 11+ exams or the 11+ process, please contact us.