Complete the Words — an original ten-gap passage
One complete, original word-completion passage
This is site-created practice for the 2026 TOEFL iBT Complete the Words task, not an ETS question. The original paragraph below is about 90 words. Its first sentence is intact; in the next stretch, the latter half of every second word is missing. There are ten gaps. Type only the missing letters in each exercise, not the whole word.
Rain gardens are shallow planted areas that collect water flowing off roofs and paths during a storm. Plants abs___ (1) some wa___ (2) while ro___ (3) create nar___ (4) spaces th__ (5) help ra__ (6) move thr____ (7) the so__ (8) more slo___ (9) after sto___ (10). Researchers can compare how much water leaves two similar paths, one beside a rain garden and one without it. Such a comparison must account for the size of each paved area and the intensity of each storm. A single wet afternoon does not prove that the garden will perform equally well in every season.
The passage is a small explanation of how a rain garden can slow runoff and how researchers might compare two places. The whole topic is in the first sentence; no specialist knowledge is needed.
The missing letters did not leave a forwarding address, but they left grammar clues.
Read around a gap before you type
Try an unscored miniature example: The roots ret___ some water. The visible ret narrows the possibilities, roots is the subject, and some water is the object. Retain makes sense, so the missing letters are ain. Notice that the answer is only the missing part.
In the longer passage, scan for a subject and a verb. A prefix such as ro may suggest several words on its own. The phrase after it tells you what those things do, and the preceding clause tells you what is being contrasted or added. Read both sides of each gap.
Let the paragraph settle close choices
If a completion seems grammatically possible but makes the explanation strange, keep reading. The later sentences repeat important ideas: water leaves paths, paved area and storm intensity affect comparisons, and one afternoon is weak evidence for all seasons. These ideas help you check whether your reconstructed sentence belongs in the paragraph.
Do not change the printed prefix. Do not write an entire word where only letters are requested. After each entry, mentally join the letters and read the result as a complete sentence.
Fill the ten gaps
Use the ten checks below in passage order. They test the letters you add; for example, if a word appeared as pla___, you would type only its missing ending. The explanations appear after each check so you can compare your reasoning with the evidence in the passage.
The printed prefix is part of the answer. Typing the whole word in a missing-letters box changes the task and will not match the key.
Gap 1, abs___: type only the missing letters.
Plants absorb some water. The prefix abs plus orb forms absorb, a verb that fits plants and water.
Gap 2, wa___: type only the missing letters.
The first sentence names water flowing off surfaces; some water is then absorbed. Wa plus ter restores water.
Gap 3, ro___: type only the missing letters.
Roots are the plant parts that create spaces in the next clause. Ro plus ots restores the plural subject roots.
Gap 4, nar___: type only the missing letters.
Narrow describes the spaces made by roots. Nar plus row produces an adjective before spaces.
Gap 5, th__: type only the missing letters.
The clause identifies spaces that help rain move. Th plus at forms the relative word that.
Gap 6, ra__: type only the missing letters.
The first sentence mentions a storm and water; the spaces help rain move. Ra plus in forms rain.
Gap 7, thr____: type only the missing letters.
Rain moves through the soil, not merely towards it. Thr plus ough restores the preposition through.
Gap 8, so__: type only the missing letters.
The rain moves through the soil beneath the planted area. So plus il forms soil.
Gap 9, slo___: type only the missing letters.
More slowly tells how rain moves; slowly is an adverb modifying move. Slo plus wly restores it.
Gap 10, sto___: type only the missing letters.
The sentence says after storms. The passage also mentions a storm at the start and each storm later, confirming the topic. Sto plus rms forms storms.
Review a wrong gap as a sentence problem
For every missed gap, write down the printed prefix, your completed word, and the phrase on both sides. Ask which clue you overlooked: letters, grammar or meaning. This is more useful than memorising ten endings from one paragraph.
The passage is an original approximation of the published task, not an adaptive score estimate. A single ten-gap text cannot predict a TOEFL Reading score.
Task mechanics checked on 23 September 2026: ETS updated TOEFL iBT overview, Reading sample tasks.