Complete the Words 1 — earthworms, shop layouts and the Moon

Complete the Words is the largest task type in the reading section of the TOEFL iBT® test as revised in January 2026: according to the published specification it supplies 30 of the 50 reading items, it is machine scored, and it aims at CEFR levels from B1 to C1 and above. You read a short academic text in which some words are only partly shown and restore them, using word-order rules, vocabulary and your understanding of what each sentence says.

This is the entry-level set of the three in this category, pitched at B1–B2. It has three original paragraphs of 80 to 90 words, each from a different field: how earthworms improve garden soil, why supermarkets keep milk and bread at the back of the store, and why the Moon shows phases. As in the task itself, the first sentence of each paragraph is left whole, so you can get your bearings, and four words later in the paragraph lose their endings. The complete paragraph is printed beside every item, so you always read the gap in its full context.

The twelve items test the forms that decide most gaps at this level: a plain present verb in a list that shares one subject, the -s that a singular or clause subject needs, an adverb rather than an adjective after a verb, a past participle after "had", an -ing form after a preposition, a singular noun after "an" and a plural after "like these". A few are settled by meaning, where every option is a real word that fits the grammar but only one makes sense in the paragraph. Each explanation says which clue in the sentence decides the gap and why each of the other three words fails.

How this differs from test day: on the test you type the missing letters yourself. Here each damaged word comes with four complete words to choose from, all beginning with the letters you can see, and the underscores never tell you how long the word is. Recognizing the right word among four is easier than producing it, so use the explanations to find the forms you hesitate over, then cover the options and try to write each word from its visible letters before you look.

The flashcards hold twelve words and phrases taken from the three paragraphs, such as "digest", "at eye level" and "orbit", each with its meaning as used there. The material offers the quiz and the flashcards.

Every paragraph and item here is written by Zestly. No ETS test material is reproduced, and facts about the test format are paraphrased from the published specification rather than copied from it.

TOEFL iBT® is a registered trademark of ETS. This product is not endorsed or approved by ETS.

• Use the verbs that share a subject to choose the matching verb form
• Choose an adverb, not an adjective, when the gap describes how an action happens
• Add the -s a singular subject needs, including a whole clause used as a subject
• Pick the past participle after "had" and the -ing form after a preposition such as "of"
• Match a noun to its article or determiner: a singular after "an", a plural before "like these"
• Reject a real word that fits the grammar but not the meaning of the paragraph

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the ETS specification of the TOEFL iBT reading task Complete the Words (revised test, January 2026).