Spelling MCQs With Answers
Spelling MCQs present four versions of a word, of which only one is correct, so they reward careful attention rather than guesswork. They are a regular part of the English sections in NTS, PPSC and FPSC tests, and the wrong options are built on the most common spelling mistakes: a missing or extra double letter (accommodate, occurrence, committee, embarrass), a wrong vowel (privilege, definitely, separate) or a missing silent letter (rhythm).
This collection of spelling MCQs with answers focuses on commonly misspelled English words, including necessary, recommend, millennium, bureaucracy, liaison, questionnaire and entrepreneur. Each explanation points out the part of the word that causes the error and, where possible, gives a memory aid, such as 'one collar and two socks' for the single c and double s in necessary.
Which is the correct spelling of the word meaning ‘to provide lodging or make suitable arrangements for someone’?
The correct spelling is 'accommodate,' with a double 'c' and a double 'm.' This word is one of the most commonly misspelled words in English, largely because it is easy to forget one of the two double letters. Remembering that the word contains both 'double c' and 'double m' together can help fix the correct spelling in memory.
Which is the correct spelling of the word meaning ‘required or essential’?
The correct spelling is 'necessary,' with one 'c' and a double 's.' A helpful memory trick is that this word has 'one collar and two socks,' referring to the single 'c' followed by the double 's,' which helps distinguish it from the common misspelling with a double 'c.'
Which is the correct spelling of the word meaning ‘without any doubt, certainly’?
The correct spelling is 'definitely,' which notably contains the word 'finite' within it. A useful memory trick is to remember that 'definitely' has 'finite' hidden inside it, which helps avoid the extremely common misspelling 'definately' that incorrectly replaces the 'i' with an 'a.'
Which is the correct spelling of the word meaning ‘to divide or set apart from something else’?
The correct spelling is 'separate,' which notably contains the word 'a rat' within it, spelled sep-A-RAT-e. This memory trick helps distinguish the correct spelling from the very common misspelling 'seperate,' which incorrectly uses an 'e' in place of the first 'a.'
Which is the correct spelling of the word meaning ‘an instance of something taking place’?
The correct spelling is 'occurrence,' with a double 'c,' a double 'r,' and ending in '-ence' rather than '-ance.' This word is frequently misspelled by dropping one of the double letters or by incorrectly using an 'a' instead of an 'e' near the end.
Which is the correct spelling of the word meaning ‘to cause someone to feel ashamed or self-conscious’?
The correct spelling is 'embarrass,' with a double 'r' and a double 's.' This word is commonly misspelled by including only one of the two double letters, making it one of the more frequently tested tricky spellings in competitive exams.
Which is the correct spelling of the word describing a regular, repeated pattern of sound or movement?
The correct spelling is 'rhythm,' a notably tricky word since it contains no standard vowels other than the 'y,' which functions as a vowel sound here. Because there is no obvious vowel pattern to rely on, this word is often best learned through repeated practice and memorization rather than sounding it out.
Which is the correct spelling of the word meaning ‘the process of keeping something in good working condition’?
The correct spelling is 'maintenance,' with the middle portion spelled '-tenance,' not '-tainance' or '-tenence.' This word is related to the verb 'maintain,' but its noun form changes the spelling of the middle section in a way that often causes confusion.
Which is the correct spelling of the word meaning ‘a special right or advantage granted to a person or group’?
The correct spelling is 'privilege,' ending in '-lege' rather than '-ledge,' and containing no 'd' anywhere in the word. This word is frequently misspelled by adding an incorrect 'd,' likely due to confusion with words like 'knowledge,' which does end in '-ledge.'
Which is the correct spelling of the word for ‘a set of printed questions used to gather information’?
The correct spelling is 'questionnaire,' with a double 'n' before the final '-aire.' This word is borrowed from French, which explains its somewhat unusual spelling pattern compared to more typical English words, and the double 'n' is the detail most often forgotten.
Which is the correct spelling of the word meaning ‘to suggest something as suitable or good’?
The correct spelling is 'recommend,' with a double 'm' but only a single 'c.' This word is commonly misspelled in the opposite pattern, either doubling the 'c' instead of the 'm' or leaving out the double letter entirely.
Which is the correct spelling of the word for ‘a group of people appointed for a specific function’?
The correct spelling is 'committee,' with a double 'm,' a double 't,' and a double 'e' at the end. This word contains three separate double letters, making it one of the more challenging common words to spell correctly without careful attention.
Which is the correct spelling of the word for ‘a system of government run by officials rather than elected representatives’?
The correct spelling is 'bureaucracy,' following the pattern 'bur-eau-cracy.' This word is borrowed from French, and the unusual 'eau' combination, also seen in words like 'beautiful,' is the part most commonly misspelled or reordered.
Which is the correct spelling of the word for ‘a period of one thousand years’?
The correct spelling is 'millennium,' with a double 'l' and a double 'n.' This word is frequently misspelled by including only one of the two double letters, a common pattern seen across many similarly tricky English words.
Which is the correct spelling of the word meaning ‘a communication link between groups or organizations’?
The correct spelling is 'liaison,' following the pattern 'li-ai-son.' This word is borrowed from French, and its unusual vowel combination, with 'ai' appearing in the middle, is frequently rearranged or shortened incorrectly in common misspellings.
Choose the correctly spelled word:
- The correct spelling is 'Receive', following the rule 'i before e except after c'.
- Since 'c' precedes, the order is 'ei', not 'ie'.
- Correct spelling: Receive.
Identify the correctly spelled word:
- The correct spelling is 'Necessary', with one 'c' and two 's'.
- A common mistake is doubling the 'c' instead of the 's'.
- Correct spelling: Necessary.
Select the correctly spelled word:
- The correct spelling is 'Definitely', containing the word 'finite' within it.
- A common mistake is spelling it with an 'a' instead of an 'i'.
- Correct spelling: Definitely.
Pick the correctly spelled word:
- The correct spelling is 'Occasion', with double 'c' and single 's'.
- A common mistake is reversing the double letters.
- Correct spelling: Occasion.
Mark the correctly spelled word:
- The correct spelling is 'Embarrass', with double 'r' and double 's'.
- A common mistake is using only one of each doubled letter.
- Correct spelling: Embarrass.
Which of these is spelled correctly?
- The correct spelling is 'Weird', an exception to the usual 'i before e' rule.
- A common mistake is writing 'Wierd' by following the general rule incorrectly.
- Correct spelling: Weird.
Which word below is spelled correctly?
- The correct spelling is 'Separate', with an 'a' in the middle syllable.
- A common mistake is writing an 'e' instead of the correct 'a'.
- Correct spelling: Separate.
Find the correctly spelled word:
- The correct spelling is 'Immediately', with double 'm' and 'ate' before 'ly'.
- A common mistake is dropping a letter or misplacing the vowels.
- Correct spelling: Immediately.
Spot the correctly spelled word:
- The correct spelling is 'Persistent', ending in '-ent', not '-ant'.
- A common mistake is confusing the ending with words like 'resistant'.
- Correct spelling: Persistent.
Point out the correctly spelled word:
- The correct spelling is 'Guarantee', with single 'r' and 'a' before 'ntee'.
- A common mistake is doubling the 'r' or using a 'u' instead of the second 'a'.
- Correct spelling: Guarantee.
Which word is spelled correctly?
- The correct spelling is 'Occurrence', with double 'c', double 'r', and 'ence' at the end.
- A common mistake is dropping one of the doubled letters.
- Correct spelling: Occurrence.
Identify the correctly spelled word below.
- The correct spelling is 'Perseverance', ending in '-ance', not '-ence'.
- A common mistake is confusing the ending with similar words like 'occurrence'.
- Correct spelling: Perseverance.
Select the word that is spelled correctly.
- The correct spelling is 'Questionnaire', with double 'n' before 'aire'.
- A common mistake is using only a single 'n'.
- Correct spelling: Questionnaire.
Locate the correctly spelled word.
- The correct spelling is 'Leisure', another exception to the general 'i before e' pattern.
- A common mistake is writing 'ei' as 'ie'.
- Correct spelling: Leisure.
Choose the word with the correct spelling.
- The correct spelling is 'Recommend', with double 'm' and single 'c'.
- A common mistake is doubling the 'c' instead of the 'm'.
- Correct spelling: Recommend.
Which of the following words is spelled correctly?
- The correct spelling is 'Government', with an 'n' before the 'ment' ending.
- A common mistake is dropping the 'n' before 'ment'.
- Correct spelling: Government.
Determine the correctly spelled word.
- The correct spelling is 'Environment', with an 'n' before 'ment'.
- A common mistake is dropping the 'n' in the middle of the word.
- Correct spelling: Environment.
Which spelling is correct?
- The correct spelling is 'Achieve', following the rule 'i before e except after c'.
- Since there is no 'c' before this combination, the order is 'ie', not 'ei'.
- Correct spelling: Achieve.
Pick the word that is spelled correctly.
- The correct spelling is 'Restaurant', with 'au' before the final 'rant'.
- A common mistake is dropping or misplacing the 'u'.
- Correct spelling: Restaurant.
Choose the correctly spelled option.
- The correct spelling is 'Surprise', with 'r' before 'prise' and an 's' before the final 'e'.
- A common mistake is dropping the first 'r' or using a 'z' instead of 's'.
- Correct spelling: Surprise.
Check which of these is correctly spelled.
- The correct spelling is 'Publicly', without an 'al' before the 'ly' ending.
- A common mistake is inserting an unnecessary 'al' by analogy with words like 'basically'.
- Correct spelling: Publicly.
Which one of these words is spelled correctly?
- The correct spelling is 'Minuscule', with a 'u' after the 'min', not an 'i'.
- A common mistake is confusing it with the word 'mini', leading to the misspelling 'miniscule'.
- Correct spelling: Minuscule.
Determine which word is spelled correctly.
- The correct spelling is 'Occasionally', with double 'c', single 's', and double 'l'.
- A common mistake is dropping one of the doubled letters.
- Correct spelling: Occasionally.
Choose the correctly spelled word from the options.
- The correct spelling is 'Cemetery', with 'e' in each of the three vowel positions before 'ry'.
- A common mistake is replacing one of the 'e's with an 'a' or 'o'.
- Correct spelling: Cemetery.
Which of these words is correctly spelled?
The correct spelling is 'commitment': double 'm' and a single 't'.
A common mistake is to double the 't' as in 'committed' and 'committee'; the 't' is doubled there because the suffix begins with a vowel (-ed, -ee), but not before '-ment'.
Identify which word is spelled correctly.
- The correct spelling is 'Harass', with a single 'r' and single 's' in the middle.
- A common mistake is doubling the 'r' by analogy with words like 'embarrass'.
- Correct spelling: Harass.
Select the correctly spelled word.
- The correct spelling is 'Liaison', with 'ai' before 'son'.
- A common mistake is dropping or misplacing one of the vowels.
- Correct spelling: Liaison.
Pick the word that has been spelled correctly.
- The correct spelling is 'Exceed', with double 'e' before the final 'd'.
- A common mistake is using a single 'e' or misplacing the double letters.
- Correct spelling: Exceed.
Choose the option that is spelled correctly.
- The correct spelling is 'Which', with 'wh' at the beginning.
- A common mistake is dropping the 'h' or adding an unnecessary 't'.
- Correct spelling: Which.
Which of the following is the correctly spelled word?
- The correct spelling is Millennium, with a double l and a double n.
- It comes from the Latin mille meaning thousand and annus meaning year, so a millennium is a period of a thousand years.
- That Latin root explains the letters: mille supplies the double l and annus supplies the double n.
- Options B and C each drop one of the doubled letters, which is the most frequent error with this word.
- The plural form is millennia and the related adjective is millennial.
- Spelling MCQs in FPSC and NTS English sections often include millennium, so the Latin root makes a useful memory aid.
Determine which word is correctly spelled.
- The correct spelling is 'Inoculate', with a single 'n' and single 'c'.
- A common mistake is doubling the 'n' by analogy with words like 'innovate'.
- Correct spelling: Inoculate.
Select the word that has been spelled correctly.
- The correct spelling is 'Conscientious', containing both 'sc' and 'ti' before the ending.
- A common mistake is dropping or rearranging one of these letter combinations.
- Correct spelling: Conscientious.
Identify the word with the correct spelling.
- The correct spelling is 'Vacuum', with a single 'c' and double 'u'.
- A common mistake is doubling the 'c' or using a single 'u'.
- Correct spelling: Vacuum.
Which one of the following words is spelled correctly?
- The correct spelling is 'Manoeuvre' (British) or 'Maneuver' (American); 'Manoeuvre' contains 'oeu' in that order.
- A common mistake is rearranging the vowel cluster in the middle of the word.
- Correct spelling: Manoeuvre.
Choose the word that has been spelled correctly.
- The correct spelling is 'Consensus', with an 's' after 'con', not a 'c'.
- A common mistake is spelling it with a 'c' by analogy with 'census'.
- Correct spelling: Consensus.
Identify the correctly spelled word from the list.
- The correct spelling is 'Rendezvous', borrowed directly from French.
- A common mistake is dropping one of the letters in the middle of the word.
- Correct spelling: Rendezvous.
Select the word that is correctly spelled.
- The correct spelling is 'Bureaucracy', with 'eau' after the initial 'bur'.
- A common mistake is rearranging the vowels in the first syllable.
- Correct spelling: Bureaucracy.
Point out the word that is correctly spelled.
- The correct spelling is 'Entrepreneur', with 'eu' before the final 'r'.
- A common mistake is misplacing the vowels near the end of the word.
- Correct spelling: Entrepreneur.
Identify the word that has been spelled correctly.
- The correct spelling is 'Maintenance', with 'e' after 'maint', not 'ai'.
- A common mistake is spelling it with 'ai' by analogy with the verb 'maintain'.
- Correct spelling: Maintenance.