PTE Fill in the Blanks: template, tips & practice
Fill in the Blanks is a PTE Academic Reading task, and it comes in two forms. In Reading Fill in the Blanks you drag words from a box into the gaps in a passage, and in Reading & Writing Fill in the Blanks each gap has a dropdown menu of options to choose from. Both appear in the Reading section, both are common, and both reward vocabulary, collocation and grammar rather than a memorised template, so the real skill is reading each full sentence for context and matching the word that fits meaning and grammar.
How PTE Fill in the Blanks is scored
Both Fill in the Blanks tasks use partial credit: you earn a point for every blank you complete correctly, with no penalty for a wrong choice, so you should never leave a gap empty. Reading Fill in the Blanks counts only towards your Reading score, while Reading & Writing Fill in the Blanks contributes to both your Reading and Writing scores, which makes it one of the more valuable reading tasks to get right. In the drag-and-drop version there are more words than blanks, so part of the task is spotting the deliberate distractors.
The PTE Fill in the Blanks template
- 1Read the whole sentence, not just the words touching the gap; the answer depends on the meaning of the full clause.
- 2Decide what the blank needs grammatically, a noun, verb, adjective or preposition, and match tense, article and singular or plural.
- 3Use collocations and linking words: pairings like "depend on", "results in", "a number of" or "in contrast" point to the natural answer.
- 4In Reading Fill in the Blanks, place the words you are sure of first, then fit the remaining words into the leftover gaps and ignore the extra distractor words.
- 5In Reading & Writing Fill in the Blanks, try each dropdown option in the sentence and keep the one that fits both meaning and grammar; answer every gap because there is no negative marking.
- 6Watch the section timer, all Reading tasks share one clock, so do not lose minutes on a single stubborn blank.
Worked example
Take the sentence "Scientists have long been ______ by the ability of some birds to navigate ______ distances without any map." The first blank needs a past participle describing interest, so "fascinated" fits, not "fascinating" or "faced". The second needs an adjective of size, so "vast" or "great" reads more naturally than "wide". Reading the entire sentence, rather than staring at the gap alone, is what points you to the right collocation each time.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Choosing a word that suits the gap alone but breaks the wider sentence; always read the full clause first.
- Ignoring grammar clues such as "a" or "an", singular versus plural, or verb tense that rule an option in or out.
- Leaving a blank empty; there is no negative marking, so always place or select an answer for every gap.
- Spending too long on one hard blank and letting the shared Reading timer run down.
- Forgetting that Reading Fill in the Blanks gives you more words than blanks, so some options are there only to distract you.
PTE Fill in the Blanks FAQ
How many Fill in the Blanks tasks are in PTE?
PTE Academic has two: Reading Fill in the Blanks, where you drag words into gaps, and Reading & Writing Fill in the Blanks, which uses dropdown menus. How many of each you see varies because the test is partly adaptive.
Is PTE Fill in the Blanks negatively marked?
No. Both Fill in the Blanks tasks give partial credit, one point for each blank filled correctly, with no penalty for a wrong answer, so you should always attempt every blank.
Does Fill in the Blanks affect my Writing score?
Reading & Writing Fill in the Blanks contributes to both your Reading and Writing scores, while Reading Fill in the Blanks counts only towards Reading. Both reward strong academic vocabulary and grammar.
How do I get better at PTE Fill in the Blanks?
Build your collocation and academic-vocabulary knowledge, read the whole sentence for context, and use grammar clues to eliminate distractors. Regular timed practice turns this into a habit.