Confusing words – part 6

Contents
1. ACTUAL / TOPICAL _______________________________________________ 2
2. ALL / EACH / EVERY ______________________________________________ 2
3. AMIABLE / AMICABEL _____________________________________________ 2
4. ANTIQUE / ANTIQUATED ___________________________________________ 2
5. AVOID / EVADE / PREVENT _________________________________________ 2
6. BASIS / BASIC___________________________________________________ 3
7. BELIEF / BELIEVE ________________________________________________ 3
8. BUILDING / HOUSE _______________________________________________ 3
9. CARRY / LIFT ____________________________________________________ 3
10. CEREMONIAL / CEREMONIOUS ______________________________________ 3
11. CLEAN / CLEANSE ________________________________________________ 3
12. COMPLEMENT / COMPLIMENT _______________________________________ 3
13. COST / EXPENSE _________________________________________________ 4
14. CUSTOM / HABIT _________________________________________________ 4
15. DEGREE / TITLE__________________________________________________ 4
16. DISCRIMINATE AGAINST/ DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN _____________________ 4
17. ELECTRIC / ELECTRICAL / ELECTRONIC _______________________________ 4
18. EXCITED / EXITED ________________________________________________ 4
19. FANTASY / IMAGINATION __________________________________________ 5
20. FIT / SUIT ______________________________________________________ 5
21. GAME / MATCH / PLAY_____________________________________________ 5
22. HIGH / TALL ____________________________________________________ 5
23. HUMAN / HUMANE ________________________________________________ 5
24. INGENIOUS / INGENUOUS _________________________________________ 5
25. JOB / WORK_____________________________________________________ 6
26. LESSEN / LESSON ________________________________________________ 6
27. MALE / MASCULINE _______________________________________________ 6
28. MEDAL / MEDDLE ________________________________________________ 6
29. NOISE / SOUND__________________________________________________ 6
30. ON / ONTO _____________________________________________________ 6
31. PAIN / PANE ____________________________________________________ 7
32. POOR / PORE / POUR _____________________________________________ 7
33. PRECEDE / PROCEED / PROCEEDS ___________________________________ 7
34. RAISE / RAYS / RAZE _____________________________________________ 7
35. ROB / STEAL / BURGLE ____________________________________________ 7
36. SCEPTIC / SCEPTICAL _____________________________________________ 8
37. SIGNIFICANCE / SIGNIFICANT ______________________________________ 8
38. TAKE CARE / TAKE CARE OF ________________________________________ 8
39. WAR / WORE ____________________________________________________ 8
40. WILL / WILFUL / WILFULLY _________________________________________ 8
Choose the correct word from the following pairs:

1. ACTUAL / TOPICAL
1. The exams are in July, but the __________ results don’t appear until
September.
2. The discussion focused on __________ issues in medicine.
3. Can you write a more general version that excludes all relevant and
__________ submissions?
4. People think she is over thirty but her __________ age is twenty.

2. ALL / EACH / EVERY

1. ________ bedroom has its own private bathroom.
2. ________ seven astronauts were killed in the explosion.
3. There are five leaflets - please take one of ________.
4. There’s no cake left. They’ve eaten it ________.
5. The United States, Russia, and Germany ________ won two gold medals.
6. A wonderful experience! I enjoyed ________ moment of it.

3. AMIABLE / AMICABEL
1. Two ___________ people might share an ___________ friendship.
2. So ___________ was the mood of the meeting that a decision was soon
reached.
3. The dispute was finally settled in a very ___________ manner.
4. He was ___________ and charming, and he possessed an ability to make
people feel comfortable in his presence.

4. ANTIQUE / ANTIQUATED
1. It will take many years to modernize these _____________ industries.
2. You can’t give away Granny’s old bookcase - it’s a valuable _____________.
3. Compared with modern satellite dishes, ordinary TV aerials look positively
_____________.
4. We thought these were _____________ chairs, but they turned out to be
replicas.

5. AVOID / EVADE / PREVENT

1. Mike swerved sharply to the left to ____________ crashing into the lorry.
2. The rules are intended to ____________ accidents.
3. She leaned forward to kiss him but he ____________ her by pretending to
sneeze.
4. We were ____________ from entering the site.
5. It makes no sense to try to ____________ paying taxes. Sooner or later, the
tax office will find out about it.
6. Pregnant women should ____________ certain foods such as raw eggs.

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6. BASIS / BASIC
1. What was the ________ of his accusation?
2. This document will form the ________ for our discussion.
3. She earns a ________ salary of 800 pounds a month.
4. The ________ problem is that they don’t talk to each other enough.

7. BELIEF / BELIEVE
1. He’s upstairs doing his homework, ___________ it or not.
2. Is a ___________ in Buddha different from a ___________ in God?
3. All religious and political ___________ should be respected equally.
4. He ___________ in saying what he thinks.

8. BUILDING / HOUSE
1. See that large ____________ over there? Well, that’s where I work.
2. I’m worried about leaving him alone in the ____________ all day.
3. The once-empty site was now covered with ____________.
4. She lives in a little ____________ in Cross Street.

9. CARRY / LIFT
1. I ___________ the boy on to my shoulders so that he could see the parade
pass.
2. Finish your lunch and then help me ___________ the dishes into the kitchen.
3. The bus that was involved in the accident was ___________ children to
school.
4. Could you ___________ your chair a little - I’ve got my coat caught under it.

10. CEREMONIAL / CEREMONIOUS

1. ______________ clothes are to be worn at the reception in the Royal palace.
2. Greg’s ______________ manner can be annoying at times. Must he always
be so stiff?
3. He represented the nation on ______________ occasions.
4. Their ______________ greetings did not seem heartfelt.

11. CLEAN / CLEANSE

1. ___________ the wound thoroughly before you bandage it.
2. Make sure your hands are ___________ before you have your dinner.
3. We had an arrangement that he would ___________ the house and I would
cook.
4. Roman Catholics go to confession to be ___________ of their sins.

12. COMPLEMENT / COMPLIMENT

1. Strawberries and cream ______________ each other perfectly.
2. I must ______________ you on your handling of a very difficult situation.
3. The music ______________ her voice utterly.
4. I take it as a ______________ when people say I look like my mother.

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13. COST / EXPENSE
1. Buying a bigger car has proved to be well worth the __________.
2. Whether or not we go to Spain for our holiday depends on the __________.
3. She rationalized the __________ by saying that the __________ly carpet
she had bought would last longer than a cheaper one.
4. My main concern about moving to London is the __________ of housing.

14. CUSTOM / HABIT

1. In my country, it’s the _________ to get married in white.
2. I’m trying not to get into the _________ of always having biscuits with my
coffee.
3. He left the house at nine exactly, as is his _________.
4. I was taught to drive by my boyfriend and I’m afraid I’ve picked up some of his
bad _________.

15. DEGREE / TITLE

1. He is working on a science _________ in chemistry.
2. To what _________ do you think we will be providing a better service?
3. He will retain the honorary _________ of non-executive chairman.
4. She has no rightful claim to the _________.

16. DISCRIMINATE AGAINST/ DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN

1. You must discriminate __________ soldiers and civilians.
2. In this neighbourhood, gay people feel discriminated __________.
3. Police dogs can discriminate __________ the different smells.
4. You mustn’t discriminate __________ anyone on the basis of their religion.

17. ELECTRIC / ELECTRICAL / ELECTRONIC

1. My brother is studying to be an _____________ engineer.
2. You can use the device to scan the image and reproduce it on-screen in an
_____________ format.
3. We can warm up the room quite quickly with this _____________ fire.
4. Our _____________ bill for July was £165.
5. There is a 20% discount on all _____________ goods until the end of the
week.
6. Even with a load of _____________ gadgetry, you still need some musical
ability to write a successful song.

18. EXCITED / EXITED

1. I __________ quickly before anyone could see me.
2. A group of __________ teenagers climbed onto the train with all their
luggage.
3. I’m very __________ about the possibility of joining the team.
4. He was very busy. He __________ the program and started another one
immediately.

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19. FANTASY / IMAGINATION
1. There is a difference between ______________ and reality.
2. My younger son has a very vivid ______________.
3. Was she paying him a lot of attention or was it just my ______________?
4. As a child, she frequently withdrew into her own ______________ world.

20. FIT / SUIT

1. I don’t have anything that really _______ the occasion.
2. Short skirts don’t really _______ me - I don’t have the legs for them.
3. If you can’t _______ all the cases in your car, I can take a few in mine.
4. I don’t suppose I have any books that would _______ your sophisticated
tastes.

21. GAME / MATCH / PLAY

1. Would you like a ________ of tennis?
2. The students performed a ________ by Shakespeare and song some folk
songs.
3. The national anthems of the teams are played at the beginning of a big
international football ________.
4. Radio ________ are always much better than TV ________ - you can use
your imagination more.
5. The children invent some fantastic ________ to occupy themselves.
6. England has to win tonight's qualifying ________ to go through to the next
round of the competition.

22. HIGH / TALL

1. Sally is very _______ and slim - she could get a job as a model.
2. The light swift is too _______ for a child to use.
3. The _______ trees by the river give welcome shade on hot days.
4. There are some _______ mountains in the north of the country.

23. HUMAN / HUMANE

1. Of course I make mistakes, I’m only _________.
2. She felt it was more _________ to kill the injured animal quickly that to let it
suffer.
3. Every _________ being has the right to freedom from oppression.
4. Their aim is for a more just and _________ society.

24. INGENIOUS / INGENUOUS

1. I’m not so ____________ as to believe everything he says.
2. John is so ____________ - he can make the most remarkable sculptures from
the most ordinary materials.
3. He was ____________ enough to overcome the limited budget.
4. It has to be said it was rather ____________ of him to ask a complete
stranger to take care of his luggage.

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25. JOB / WORK
1. He said that if we both had a _______ we could get a loan from a building
society.
2. What sort of _______ are you experienced in?
3. It’s very difficult trying to bring up two children while doing a full-time
_______.
4. In common with many mothers, she feels torn between her family and her
_______.
5. The book is likely to appeal to someone doing _______ that demands the
ability to write well.

26. LESSEN / LESSON

1. A healthy diet can _________ the risk of heart disease.
2. My parents made me pay back all the money and it was a _________ I never
forgot.
3. The attention she gives him will certainly _________ once the baby is born.
4. In today’s _________ we’re going to look at punctuation.

27. MALE / MASCULINE

1. His opinions are just too ____________ for me.
2. The critics picked him out as the outstanding ____________ dancer of the
decade.
3. ‘He’ is the ____________ form of the third person singular.
4. The ____________ parts of the flower are the stamens and the anthers.
5. The chief suspect for the robbery is a Caucasian ____________.

28. MEDAL / MEDDLE

1. The gold _________ slipped from his grasp in the last moments of the race.
2. People shouldn’t _________ with things they don’t understand.
3. We were the first Americans to _________.
4. My parents always _________ in my affairs.

29. NOISE / SOUND

1. Can you hear that strange clicking ________?
2. They could hear the ________ of a bell tolling in the distance.
3. ________ can travel over very large distances in water.
4. His main dislikes about work are the ________ and dust in the factory.

30. ON / ONTO
1. The men were standing _______ the roof.
2. She emptied the suitcase full of clothes _______ the floor.
3. The hotel is _______ the road opposite the beach.
4. The path leads _______ the main road.

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31. PAIN / PANE
1. You should now see the audio tracks displayed on the right _______ of the
software window.
2. The parents are still in great _______ over the death of their child.
3. The builder was in _______ after accidentally putting his hand through the
window _______.
4. That child is a real _______ in the neck.

32. POOR / PORE / POUR

1. He __________ over the letter searching for clues about the writer (s.past)
2. __________ the honey into the bowl and mix it thoroughly with the other
ingredients.
3. The __________ bird couldn’t fly because it had a broken wing.
4. He spends every lunchtime __________ out his emotional problems to me
and expects me to find a solution.
5. Dad had been in __________ health for several years.
6. Sweat passes through the __________ and cools the body down.

33. PRECEDE / PROCEED / PROCEEDS

1. His lawyers have decided not to ____________ with the case.
2. The ____________ of today's festival will go to several local charities.
3. Verbs usually ____________ objects in English.
4. She sat down and ____________ to tell me about her skiing holiday.
5. I’m not sure of I fully understand the sentence which ____________ this one.
6. It says on the back of the card "all ____________ to charity".

34. RAISE / RAYS / RAZE

1. The town was ________ to the ground in the bombing raid - not a building
was left standing.
2. She chose to ________ the blinds so that her plant could soak up more of the
sun’s ________.
3. Would all those in favour please ________ their hands.
4. A frenzy of hotel building ________ old neighbourhoods and transformed city
centres.
5. You’ll have to ________ your voice if you want to be heard in here.
6. The alarm emits infra-red ________ which are used to detect any intruder.

35. ROB / STEAL / BURGLE

1. The house was __________ while they were all sleeping.
2. They were so poor they had to __________ in order to eat.
3. Two thieves attacked him last night and __________ him of all his money.
4. A thief broke into the building last night and __________ some valuable
paintings.
5. Art thieves have __________ homes by cutting through the walls with a chain
saw.
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6. My wallet is gone! I’ve been __________!

36. SCEPTIC / SCEPTICAL

1. I’m a bit ____________ about his chances of success.
2. People say it can cure colds, but I’m a bit of a ____________.
3. Tom thinks it will all work out but I remain ____________.
4. The ____________ may argue that there are no grounds for such optimism.

37. SIGNIFICANCE / SIGNIFICANT

1. She look at him across the table and gave him a _______________ smile.
2. We should not overestimate the _______________ of his influence.
3. Do you think that look he gave you had any _______________?
4. Is there any _______________ difference in quality between these two
items?

38. TAKE CARE / TAKE CARE OF

1. "Bye, Melissa." "Goodbye Rozzie, take __________."
2. All the neighbours take very good __________ their gardens.
3. Can you take __________ this customer, please?
4. “Have a nice trip! Goodbye! Take __________ not to fall in the pond.”

39. WAR / WORE

1. The past few months have witnessed a price _______ between leading
supermarkets.
2. The politician _______ a confident smile throughout the interview.
3. _______ broke out between the two countries after a border dispute.
4. In medieval times, soldiers _______ chain mail armour when going to
_______.

40. WILL / WILFUL / WILFULLY

1. She developed into a ___________, difficult child.
2. From an early age she had a very strong ___________.
3. Some basic safety rules were ___________ ignored.
4. Against their ___________, they were forced to hand over the money.
5. The present crisis is the result of years of ___________ neglect by the
council.

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Key
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 actual topical topical actual
2 Every All each all each every
3 amiable, amiable amicable amiable
amicable
4 antiquated antique antiquated antique
5 avoid prevent evaded prevented evade avoid
6 basis basis basic basic
7 believe belief, belief beliefs believes
8 building house buildings house
9 lifted carry carrying lift
10 Ceremonial ceremonious ceremonial ceremonious
11 Cleanse clean clean cleansed
12 complement compliment complements compliment
13 expense cost expense, cost cost
14 custom habit custom habits
15 degree degree title title
16 between against between against
17 electrical electronic electric electric electrical electronic
18 exited excited excited exited
19 fantasy imagination imagination fantasy
20 fits suit fit suit
21 game play match plays, plays games match
22 tall high tall high
23 human humane human humane
24 ingenuous ingenious ingenious ingenuous
25 job work job work work
26 lessen lesson lessen lesson
27 masculine male masculine male male
28 medal meddle medal meddle
29 noise sound Sound noise
30 on onto on onto
31 pane pain pain, pane pain
32 pored Pour poor pouring poor pores
33 proceed proceeds precede proceeded precedes proceeds
34 razed raise, rays raise razed raise rays
35 burgled steal robbed stole burgled robbed
36 sceptical sceptic sceptical sceptic
37 significant significance significance significant
38 care care of care of care
39 war wore War wore, war
40 wilful will wilfully will wilful

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