Word Puzzles
24 GL-style verbal reasoning types — closest meaning, letter series, codes and more — the puzzle-solving core of most 11+ papers. A pinned A–Z / 1–26 alphabet reference line appears above code-based types only.
What's covered
- Word logic: closest meaning, opposites, hidden words, word connections.
- Sequences & codes: letter series, alphabet codes, number-letter substitution.
- Introduced from Year 4 as part of 11+ preparation, building up to full mixed practice by Year 6.
More Word Puzzles
Pinned reference line (shown above code-based types only)
Look at this series of letters. What comes next?
A C E G ?
- I ✓
- H
- J
- K
Look at how far apart each letter is: every letter moves 2 places on from the one before. G moved 2 places on gives I.
Closest meaning
Which word is closest in meaning to the word in capitals? BRAVE
- courageous
- timid
- gloomy
- narrow
Spot on!
Of the five options, "courageous" is closest in meaning to "brave". The two words can usually be swapped in a sentence without changing what it means, while the other options are either unrelated or point the opposite way.
Tap to continue →
Real closest-meaning item, drawn from the same synonym lexicon the generator uses (brave → courageous / bold / fearless).
How the difficulty adapts
Word Puzzles, tuned question by question
Verbal Reasoning covers 24 puzzle types, but underneath them all sits one live rating, so real progress on any type moves the whole trail forward.
One rating, 24 puzzle types
Closest meaning, letter series, codes and every other type share a single Word Puzzles rating (an Elo/IRT-style model). It moves up when your child clears a harder item than their current level, and eases back after a wobble — so getting sharper on one puzzle family lifts the whole trail.
Year-anchored, then placed
Verbal Reasoning is introduced from Year 4 as part of 11+ preparation. A new trail cold-starts near that year's standard, then a short placement run of questions settles the exact level.
The same score you see as a parent
That rating becomes the 55–145 standardised-style score on the parent dashboard, centred on 100 like an 11+ standardised score — a useful guide, not an official result.
Stretched, not overwhelmed
Practice cycles through all 24 types so no single puzzle family gets over-served while another goes stale, and never jumps a whole year ahead of what's already secure — just one step past it.
Learned things come back
A puzzle family that's gone quiet for a while — say, letter codes — resurfaces on its own spaced schedule to check it's still solid, rather than being answered once and never revisited.
The same five-stage scale every subject's trail runs on — Word Puzzles' rating moves along it as your child answers.
The rating a typical child is expected to be secure at, by the end of each school year — about 250 points per year.
Try Word Puzzles for real
No sign-up — jump straight into a few real, adaptive questions on Conkerly's demo account. Nothing you do here is saved.