Verbal Reasoning › Making & changing words
Making & changing words
These puzzles are about how words are built and spelled, not what they mean. You add, take away, move and join letters to make new words.
What these questions are
This group is all about letters and spelling. You are not asked what words mean. Instead you look closely at the letters and find a way to build, change or join words. There are seven kinds here:
- Hidden words — a small word hiding across two others.
- Insert a letter — one letter that finishes one word and starts the next.
- Missing word — three letters taken out of a word.
- Move a letter — shift a letter from one word into another.
- Compound words — join two words into one.
- Make a word — build a word using a rule you work out.
- Complete the word — finish a pattern across word pairs.
How to crack them
- These are about spelling and letters, not meaning. Look at the letters, not the picture in your head.
- Say the words aloud. Hearing them helps you spot a hidden word or a missing letter.
- For the rule puzzles, number the letters 1, 2, 3 to see the pattern clearly.
- Always check your new word is a real word.
A worked example
Here is a “hidden word” question, taken slowly.
The big old dog barked.
- Look at the gaps between words. A hidden word sits across a gap, using the end of one word and the start of the next.
- Try each gap. Look at “big old”. Take the last letter of big and join it to old.
- Read it across the gap. big old gives g-o-l-d.
Now your go
Seven short sets, one for each kind. Nothing is timed or saved, so take your time and get it wrong as often as you like.
A little tip: these puzzles are about letters, not meaning. Saying the words out loud often helps you hear the answer.
Hidden words
A four-letter word is hiding across two of the words. Pick the word that is hidden.
Insert a letter
One letter finishes the word before the brackets and starts the word after. Find the letter that works for both lines.
Missing word
Three letters have been taken out of the word in capitals. Pick the three that put it back so the sentence makes sense.
Move a letter
Move one letter from the first word into the second word, so both become new real words. Tap the letter that moves.
Compound words
Pick one word from each group that join to make a single word. The first word always comes first. Then press Check.
Make a word
The word in brackets is built from the two words beside it. Work out the rule from the first line, then finish the second line the same way.
Complete the word
The first two pairs show a rule. Find the word that completes the third pair the same way.
That is making & changing words
Seven kinds done. When you are ready, head back and pick another topic.
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