Cloze Texts

A text with some words taken out. Students read (or listen) and fill in the gaps, then check their answers. Use your own text, or generate one at the right level in seconds. Every exercise comes in two versions: students type the missing words, or choose them from a word bank. You can add audio for listening practice and print a worksheet too.

Make a cloze text

Ready-made cloze texts

Try one

Bruce Lee (reading with audio)

A2 Play it

Mixed Passive Tense Story (with word bank)

B1 Play it

Business Idioms

B2 Play it

Ideas for using it

  • Grammar in context. Gap the verbs in a short story and practise tenses, the passive or state verbs where they really happen, not in single sentences.
  • Pre-teach, then read. Gap the key words of a reading and let students guess them from the context before they read the full text.
  • Listening and dictation. Add audio and gap the words students need to hear. Slow it down to 0.75× for lower levels, or use "back 5 seconds" to replay the tricky parts.
  • Word bank for lower levels. Share the word bank version with A1–A2 students and the typing version with stronger ones. It's the same text, so the class can check together.
  • Collocations and phrases. Gap one word of each collocation, phrasal verb or idiom ("hit the ground running") so students notice which words go together.
  • A text in a minute. No time to find a text? Generate one from a topic and level, with the gaps already on the grammar or vocabulary you're teaching, then add audio with one click.
  • Review last lesson. Paste your own model text or a summary of last lesson and gap the language you taught. It takes a couple of minutes.
  • Homework. Turn on homework mode and students send their answers to you instead of checking them.
  • Print it. Every exercise has a printable worksheet, with or without the word bank, for classes without devices.

How it works

  1. Open the exercise, or send the link to your students. If there's audio, they can listen first.
  2. Students type the missing words, or in the word bank version tap a word and then a gap.
  3. Check answers marks what they've filled in and says how many are right. Try again clears just the wrong ones, and Hint gives the next letter.
  4. When every gap is right, students see "All done!". Show answers is there if they get stuck.

Bigger text helps on projectors and shared screens. You can also hide the Check button if you'd rather go through the answers together.

Tips for good cloze texts

  • One gap every sentence or two. About 8 to 15 gaps in a short text keeps it readable.
  • Leave the first sentence whole so students get into the text before the first gap.
  • Gap with a purpose. Choose one focus, such as past tense verbs, prepositions or topic vocabulary, rather than random words.
  • Make sure each gap has one answer. If two words would fit, students will be marked wrong for a good answer.
  • Making gaps is quick: double-click a word, or paste a text with the gapped words in [square brackets].
  • Short on time? Use Generate: choose a topic, level, length and what to gap (verbs, prepositions, articles, linking words, vocabulary or your own focus). Verb gaps come with the base verb in brackets. Always read the text through and adjust any gaps before you save.
  • Add audio in one click. Generate it from the text in a range of voices and accents, or upload your own recording.

Make your own

Paste or type a text and double-click the words you want to gap, or generate a text with the gaps already marked. Add audio if you like, and create the exercise. You get a typing version, a word bank version and a printable worksheet, all from one link.

Make a cloze text

More in our collections

Our graded readings come with full lesson plans, and cloze texts also appear in our activity collections by grammar point and topic.

Ready-made cloze texts

Click a title for the typing version, or Word bank to choose from the missing words.

Graded readings with audio

From our lesson plans. More readings, with full lessons, are on the lesson plans page.

News lessons

Grammar

Vocabulary and idioms

Business English

Readings to get students talking

Seasons and holidays

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