postUpdated Oct 5, 2026

Fill in the Blanks for Bank and SSC Exams: Fillers Method

This article is a complete, exam-ready guide to fill in the blanks, also called fillers, for banking, insurance, SSC, railway and State PSC exams. It explains why a filler is harder than a cloze blank despite looking simpler, covers the five formats from single blanks to sentence fillers, separates vocabulary, grammar and contextual questions, and gives the four-stage order of grammar, meaning, collocation and elimination. It also lists the internal clues that a single sentence provides, the double-blank strategy that eliminates whole pairs at once, the golden rules on time markers and redundancy, eight solved questions and a fifteen-question practice set with a full answer key.

Introduction

Fill in the blanks, usually called fillers, gives you a sentence with one or two words missing. You choose the option that completes it correctly.

It looks like the simplest question in the English section. There is one hidden difficulty worth understanding before you start.

A filler is a standalone sentence with no passage around it, so the sentence itself must supply every clue you need. In a cloze test you can look at the sentence before and the sentence after. Here there is nothing else. Everything that decides the answer is inside those fifteen or twenty words, and your job is to find it.

That is also why fillers reward a method rather than a large vocabulary. Look at this sentence: The number of viewers ______ from 10 million to 12 million last month. Two clues sit inside it. The phrase the number of always takes a singular verb, and last month forces the simple past. Together they leave exactly one possible answer, and you never had to judge the meaning of anything.

Where This Topic Is Asked

Exam	How This Topic Appears	Rough Weight	Difficulty
Bank PO prelims	Single and double fillers as standalone sentences.	3 to 5 questions	Moderate. Options are close in meaning by design.
Bank PO mains	Double fillers, phrase fillers and sentence fillers, plus the same skill inside cloze tests.	3 to 5 questions, plus indirect use	Harder, with longer sentences and paired options.
Bank and insurance clerk exams	Mostly single and double fillers on everyday vocabulary.	3 to 5 questions	Easy to moderate.
SSC exams	Single blanks testing vocabulary, prepositions and verb forms.	1 to 3 questions in Tier 1, more in Tier 2	Moderate. Options are deliberately similar.
Railway and defence exams	Simple single blanks on familiar words.	2 to 4 questions	Easy.
State PSC exams	Standard single and double blanks on policy sentences.	Varies by state	Moderate.

One point about difficulty deserves stating plainly. Examiners deliberately offer options that look similar, sound plausible or are grammatically sound but fail on context. So a student who chooses by feel will get roughly half of them right, and a student who works through the clues will get nearly all of them. Confirm the pattern for your paper in the exam-wise syllabus hub.

The Five Formats

Format	What You Are Given	Best First Move	Time
1. Single filler	One sentence with one blank and four or five word options.	Decide what part of speech the blank needs, then narrow by meaning.	20 to 25 seconds.
2. Double filler	One sentence with two blanks and paired options such as pressure, timing.	Solve whichever blank is easier, then strike out every pair whose word for that blank is wrong.	30 seconds.
3. Multiple correct options	One blank, with more than one option possibly correct, and you select all that fit.	Test each option separately rather than looking for a single best answer.	40 seconds.
4. Phrase filler	The blank takes a phrase rather than a single word.	Check the grammar of the whole phrase, since a phrase can fail on one word.	30 seconds.
5. Sentence filler	A whole sentence is missing from a short paragraph.	Read what comes before and after the gap, exactly as in paragraph completion.	45 seconds.

Formats one and two carry almost all the marks. Format five is really a different topic wearing a filler's clothes, so treat it with the paragraph-completion method rather than this one.

Three Kinds of Question

Kind	What It Tests	Example	How to Solve It
Vocabulary-based	Whether you know the precise meaning of similar-looking words.	The proposal received ______ support across party lines. Options: bipartisan, hostile, fragmented, recalcitrant.	Read the clue phrase. Across party lines means both sides agreed, so bipartisan is the only fit and the other three all suggest division or opposition.
Grammar-based	Agreement, tense and fixed prepositions.	The number of viewers ______ from 10 million to 12 million last month.	Two rules decide it: the number of takes a singular verb, and last month forces the simple past. So increased.
Contextual	Which of several grammatical options actually makes sense.	The soldiers were told to ______ restraint and handle the situation peacefully. Options: exercise, control, prevent, enforce.	Restraint means self-control, so you cannot control it or prevent it. Laws are enforced, not restraint. Exercise restraint is the standard pairing.

Contextual questions are the hardest of the three, because two or three options will be grammatically perfect and close in meaning. Those are decided by pairing rather than by definition, which is where this topic overlaps with collocations.

Formula Box

The order: grammar, then meaning, then collocation, then elimination.
Step one is always the part of speech. Ask whether the blank needs a noun, verb, adjective, adverb or preposition.
Every clue is inside the sentence, because there is no passage to help you.
Double fillers: solve the easier blank first, then eliminate whole pairs.
Time markers: ago, yesterday and last week force the simple past; since and for call for a perfect tense.
Redundancy check: a word that repeats an idea already in the sentence is wrong.
Time: 20 to 30 seconds a question.

The Method: Grammar, Meaning, Collocation, Elimination

Stage	What to Do	Why It Comes at This Point	Common Mistake
1. Read the complete sentence	Read all of it, not just the words around the blank, and note the tense and the tone.	The clue is often at the far end of the sentence, well away from the blank.	Reading only the three words on either side of the gap.
2. Grammar first	Decide what the blank must be: a noun, a verb, an adjective, an adverb or a preposition.	Grammar rules options out completely, while meaning only ranks the survivors.	Comparing meanings before checking the word class.
3. Meaning next	Among the options that survive, ask which direction the sentence points: positive, negative or neutral.	Direction removes two or three options in most vocabulary questions and costs two seconds.	Weighing fine shades of meaning before checking the basic direction.
4. Collocation third	Ask which of the remaining words normally pairs with the noun or verb beside the blank.	When two options both mean roughly the right thing, pairing is what separates them.	Choosing the word you happen to know better.
5. Eliminate and read back	Strike out what cannot work, then put your choice into the sentence and read the whole thing.	A wrong choice usually reads awkwardly, and your ear will catch it.	Marking the option without the read-back.

The order matters more than any single rule in it. Grammar eliminates, meaning narrows, collocation decides. Students who start with meaning spend their time comparing words that grammar had already ruled out.

The Internal Clues

Since a filler gives you no passage, learn to read the sentence for the signals it does contain. These are the ones examiners plant most often.

Clue	What It Tells You	Example
Time markers	Ago, yesterday and last month force the simple past. Since and for call for a perfect or perfect continuous tense.	Viewership ______ last month takes increased, not has increased.
The number of	Takes a plural noun but a singular verb. A number of takes a plural verb.	The number of officers was reduced. A number of officers were present.
All, several, various, many	Must be followed by a plural noun.	The church welcomed people of all denominations, not denomination.
Another, each, every, one	Must be followed by a singular noun.	India needs another round of reforms, not rounds.
Become, remain, seem, appear	These linking verbs are followed by an adjective, not a noun.	To become eligible, not to become eligibility.
A or an before the blank	The article fixes the sound the next word must begin with, and a noun must follow.	An demands a vowel sound, which alone can eliminate two options.
A preposition before the blank	A noun or gerund must follow, never a finite verb.	Capable of managing, not capable of manage.
A direct object after the blank	The verb must be transitive, which decides pairs like rise and raise.	They urged people to raise their voice, since voice is the object.
The nature of the event	Negative and sudden events break out. Neutral or positive events commence.	Riots broke out; the ceremony commenced.
A comparative in the sentence	A comparative form calls for than, and requires two things to compare.	Superior to, better than, and never a comparative with nothing beside it.
Words already in the sentence	A word that repeats an idea already present creates redundancy and is wrong.	If the sentence already ends in again, the blank cannot take repeat or reiterate.
Rather and very	Rather usually precedes an undesirable adjective, while very precedes a desirable one.	Rather bleak, very encouraging.

One correction is worth making here, because a widely circulated note gets it wrong. Students are sometimes told that 25 years old should be 25 year old. That is only true when the phrase works as an adjective before a noun, as in a 25-year-old candidate, where it is hyphenated and singular. When it follows the verb, the plural is correct: one had to be at least 25 years old is perfectly standard English. Position decides the form, so check whether the phrase sits before the noun or after the verb.

The Double-Blank Strategy

Double fillers look twice as hard and are usually easier, because a pair fails if either word is wrong. That gives you a shortcut.

Scan both blanks and decide which is easier. Usually one blank has a strong grammatical clue, such as an article, a preposition or a plural marker.
Solve that blank alone. Ignore the second blank completely for the moment.
Strike out every pair whose word for that blank is wrong. In a five-option question this usually leaves one or two pairs standing.
Check the survivor against the second blank. If it fits, you are done. If two pairs survive, the second blank decides between them.

Take an example. Policymakers were clearly under ______ to allay the fears of foreign investors, so the ______ of the regulator's move is no surprise. The first blank follows the preposition under, which demands a noun, and the sense is that officials were being pushed. Pressure fits. Any pair not offering pressure for blank one is now eliminated, whatever its second word. That single step usually finishes the question.

Exam Alert

Read the whole sentence. The deciding clue often sits at the far end, away from the blank.
Check the part of speech first. A noun option cannot fill an adjective slot however good its meaning.
In double fillers, solve one blank and eliminate pairs. Never try to judge both blanks at once.
Watch for redundancy. A word that repeats an idea already in the sentence is a planted distractor.
Fixed prepositions cannot be reasoned out, so memorise them: good at, interested in, capable of, abide by, prone to.

Golden Rules Worth Memorising

Rise and raise. Rise takes no object, so the sun rises and prices rise. Raise takes an object, so you raise your voice and the bank raises rates.
Break out and commence. Wars, fires, riots and epidemics break out. Ceremonies, journeys and sessions commence.
Arrest has two meanings. Besides taking someone into custody, it means to halt a process, as in investment can arrest the decline.
Group nouns are specific. Dancers and actors belong to a troupe, musicians to an orchestra, and officials to a committee.
Superfluous words are wrong. If the sentence already says boom, adding well is redundant, because a boom already means doing well.
Fixed prepositions. Good at, interested in, depend on, different from, capable of, abide by, prone to, entrusted with.

Key Highlights

Everything is inside one sentence. There is no passage to help, so read to the full stop.
Grammar decides nearly half the questions before meaning is even considered.
Small words carry big clues: all, another, an, become, since, ago.
In a double filler, one wrong word kills the whole pair, so solve one blank and eliminate.
When two options mean the same thing, the answer is decided by which one normally pairs with the noun.

Eight Solved Questions

Question 1 (linking verb takes an adjective). To become ______ for the competition, one had to be at least twenty-five years old. Options: eligibility, eligible, eagerness, energy.

Working: Become is a linking verb and takes an adjective, so the two nouns and the abstract noun all fail on grammar before meaning is considered. Answer: eligible.

Question 2 (plural marker). The church allowed people of all ______ to attend the service. Options: denomination, denominations, faith, belief.

Working: All must be followed by a plural noun, and only one option is plural. Answer: denominations. No vocabulary judgement was needed at all.

Question 3 (contextual pairing). The opposition leaders made a ______ remark about the minister. Options: scathing, isolated, generous, tentative.

Working: Opposition leaders criticise, so the direction is negative. Scathing means severely critical. Generous reverses the tone, while the other two do not describe criticism. Answer: scathing.

Question 4 (two grammar rules together). The number of viewers ______ from ten million to twelve million last month. Options: have increased, has increased, had increased, increased.

Working: Two traps sit in one sentence. The number of takes a singular verb, which removes have increased. And last month is a finished past period, which requires the simple past rather than any perfect form. Answer: increased.

Question 5 (transitive verb). He urged citizens to continue to ______ their voice against the proposal. Options: rise, raise, arise, shout.

Working: Voice is the direct object, so the verb must be transitive. Rise and arise take no object, and shout their voice is not English. Answer: raise.

Question 6 (event type). The riots that ______ in parts of the state left several markets closed. Options: commenced, broke out, initiated, launched.

Working: Riots are sudden and negative, and English pairs such events with break out. Commenced suits a ceremony or a session, and the other two need a person doing the starting. Answer: broke out.

Question 7 (double filler). Attention needs to be ______ to both the cyclical and the structural dimensions of the country's present ______ slowdown. Options: (a) infrastructure, functionality (b) paid, economic (c) sought, remote (d) developed, funding (e) willing, sharing.

Working: Take blank one first. The phrase is attention is paid to, which is a fixed pairing, so only option (b) survives on that word alone. Check blank two: a slowdown with cyclical and structural dimensions is an economic one, which confirms it. Answer: (b) paid, economic.

Question 8 (double filler with a redundancy trap). For faster growth, the country needs another ______ of economic reforms, and the construction sector must ______ well. Options: (a) rounds, boom (b) round, operate (c) round, boom (d) rounds, operate.

Working: Another demands a singular noun, so both options with rounds fall away. Between the survivors, boom well is redundant, because a boom already means performing well. Answer: (b) round, operate.

Quick Facts

Become, remain, seem take an adjective, not a noun.
All, several, many take a plural noun; another, each, every take a singular one.
The number of takes a singular verb; a number of takes a plural verb.
Ago, yesterday, last month force the simple past; since, for call for a perfect tense.
Rise takes no object; raise takes one.
Riots and fires break out; ceremonies commence.

Worked Examples: Wrong to Right

Example 1 (meaning before grammar)

Sentence: For to become ______ for the competition, a student compares the meanings of eligibility and eligible and picks the noun.

Trap: Both words carry the right meaning, so comparing meanings produces no clear winner. Become is a linking verb and takes an adjective, which settles it before meaning is even considered.

Correct Answer: eligible.

Rule in Simple Words: Check the word class first. Grammar eliminates, meaning only ranks.

Example 2 (reading around the blank only)

Sentence: A student reads The number of viewers ______ from ten million and stops there, choosing a plural verb because viewers is plural.

Trap: The nearest noun is plural and sits right beside the blank, so the plural verb feels natural. The head of the phrase is number, which is singular, and the words last month at the far end fix the tense.

Correct Answer: increased.

Rule in Simple Words: Read to the end of the sentence, because the deciding clue is often furthest from the blank.

Example 3 (judging both blanks at once)

Sentence: In a double filler, a student tries to evaluate five word pairs by reading the full sentence five times.

Trap: Testing pairs feels thorough, and each attempt takes only a few seconds at first. Five full readings cost more than a minute, which is double the time the question is worth.

Correct Answer: Solve the easier blank alone, then eliminate every pair that fails on it.

Rule in Simple Words: One wrong word kills the whole pair, so you only need to check one blank properly.

Example 4 (missing a redundancy)

Sentence: A student chooses boom well for a sentence about the construction sector.

Trap: Both words are correct English and the phrase sounds emphatic. Boom already means performing strongly, so adding well repeats the idea and makes the phrase faulty.

Correct Answer: operate well.

Rule in Simple Words: If the option repeats something the sentence already says, it is the planted distractor.

Example 5 (transitive and intransitive)

Sentence: A student writes to rise their voice because rise is the more familiar word.

Trap: The two verbs look almost identical and are used loosely in speech. Rise cannot take an object, and voice is an object, so only raise is grammatically possible.

Correct Answer: raise their voice.

Rule in Simple Words: If a noun follows the blank, the verb must be able to take an object.

Example 6 (right meaning, wrong pairing)

Sentence: For the soldiers were told to ______ restraint, a student picks control.

Trap: Restraint and control are close in meaning, which makes the option look sensible. You cannot control control, and laws are enforced rather than restraint. English pairs restraint with exercise.

Correct Answer: exercise restraint.

Rule in Simple Words: When two options mean the same, the answer is decided by which one normally pairs with the noun.

Example 7 (ignoring the article)

Sentence: A student chooses a consonant-initial word for a blank preceded by an.

Trap: The article is a small word and the eye passes over it while comparing meanings. An requires a vowel sound in the next word, which can eliminate two options in a second.

Correct Answer: The option beginning with a vowel sound.

Rule in Simple Words: Small words carry big clues. Read the article before the blank.

Example 8 (spending too long)

Sentence: A student cannot decide between two vocabulary options and works on the question for ninety seconds.

Trap: The two survivors feel so close that one more comparison seems certain to settle it. A filler is worth the same mark as a question you could finish in twenty seconds.

Correct Answer: Apply the pairing test once, choose, and move on.

Rule in Simple Words: Twenty to thirty seconds a filler, and no more.

Common Traps Students Fall Into

These are the habits that most often cost marks. Each one is a common trap, not a silly mistake, and each has a one-line fix.

Trap: Reading only the words around the blank. Fix: The clue is often at the far end of the sentence.
Trap: Comparing meanings before checking grammar. Fix: Decide the part of speech first, because grammar eliminates outright.
Trap: Matching the verb to the nearest noun. Fix: The verb agrees with the head noun, so the number of officers was.
Trap: Ignoring time markers. Fix: Last month and ago force the simple past, while since and for need a perfect tense.
Trap: Testing all pairs in a double filler. Fix: Solve one blank and eliminate the pairs that fail on it.
Trap: Overlooking redundancy. Fix: A word repeating an idea already in the sentence is wrong.
Trap: Ignoring the article before the blank. Fix: An demands a vowel sound and can remove options instantly.
Trap: Guessing fixed prepositions. Fix: Memorise them, since no reasoning will produce abide by or entrusted with.
Trap: Choosing the most difficult word. Fix: Rare words are usually distractors, and the plain word that fits is the answer, as in one-word substitution.
Trap: Missing the tone of the sentence. Fix: Decide whether the direction is positive or negative before comparing shades of meaning.
Trap: Practising without recording the rule. Fix: After each wrong answer, write the clue you missed, exactly as in error spotting practice.

Memory Tricks and Formulas

1. Grammar, meaning, collocation, elimination

Work in that order every time. Grammar rules options out completely, meaning narrows what survives, and collocation decides between the last two. Reversing the order is the commonest reason students lose time on this topic.

2. Read to the full stop

The clue that decides a filler is frequently the last three words of the sentence. So never stop reading at the blank, however obvious the answer seems.

3. Name the word class before you look

Ask whether the blank needs a noun, a verb, an adjective, an adverb or a preposition. In many questions this alone removes two or three options, and it takes about two seconds.

4. Small words, big clues

All needs a plural noun. Another needs a singular noun. An needs a vowel sound. Become needs an adjective. Four small words, four instant eliminations.

5. One blank kills the pair

In a double filler, never judge both blanks together. Solve whichever has the stronger grammatical clue, then strike out every pair whose word for that blank is wrong.

6. The redundancy sweep

Before marking, ask whether your chosen word repeats an idea the sentence already contains. Examiners plant these deliberately, and boom well is the classic example.

7. Learn the fixed pairs

Attention is paid, restraint is exercised, a decision is made, a reward is announced, a role is entrusted. These cannot be reasoned out, so keep a running list of about 40 pairs and revise it weekly.

8. The 25-second clock

Give a single filler 20 to 25 seconds and a double filler about 30 seconds. With 3 to 5 questions in a paper, the whole block should take under two minutes.

Exam Patterns and High-Yield Facts

Frequently Confused Pairs

Pair	How They Differ	Mini Trick
Fillers vs Cloze test	A filler is a standalone sentence. A cloze test has blanks across a connected passage.	One sentence against a whole passage.
Fillers vs Phrase replacement	A filler completes a gap. Phrase replacement corrects an existing part.	Add against fix.
Rise vs Raise	Rise takes no object. Raise takes one.	The sun rises, you raise your hand.
The number of vs A number of	The first takes a singular verb, the second a plural one.	The number was, a number were.
Broke out vs Commenced	Negative sudden events break out. Neutral events commence.	Riots break out, ceremonies commence.
Rather vs Very	Rather usually precedes an undesirable adjective, very a desirable one.	Rather bleak, very promising.
Exercise vs Enforce	You exercise restraint or caution. You enforce a law or a rule.	Self-control is exercised, rules are enforced.
Arrest a person vs Arrest a decline	The same verb means to detain and to halt.	Investment can arrest a fall.
Troupe vs Committee	Dancers and actors form a troupe. Officials form a committee.	Performers travel in a troupe.
Eligible vs Eligibility	The first is an adjective, the second a noun.	After become, you need the adjective.

Repeating Question Patterns

Agreement traps built on a long noun phrase, where a plural noun sits beside a singular head noun.
Time-marker traps, where a perfect tense is offered for a finished past period.
Linking-verb traps, where a noun is offered after become, remain or seem.
Singular and plural markers, using all, several, another and each to decide the noun form.
Redundancy traps in double fillers, where one word repeats an idea already present.
Fixed-pairing questions where two options mean the same and only one collocates.

Practice Set: Fifteen Questions

Choose the word or pair that best completes each sentence. Give each item twenty-five seconds.

The committee remained ______ about the outcome of the inquiry. (a) silence (b) silent (c) silently (d) silencing
The number of applications ______ sharply after the fee was waived. (a) have risen (b) has risen (c) rose (d) were rising
The scheme covers people of all ______ and income levels. (a) age (b) ages (c) aged (d) aging
Officials asked the crowd to ______ patience until the results were declared. (a) enforce (b) exercise (c) prevent (d) control
The state needs another ______ of investment in rural roads. (a) rounds (b) round (c) rounding (d) rounded
Fresh funding could ______ the decline in enrolment. (a) capture (b) arrest (c) detain (d) seize
A fire ______ in the market late on Tuesday night. (a) commenced (b) broke out (c) launched (d) initiated
The dancers rehearsed for weeks before the ______ left for the festival. (a) committee (b) party (c) troupe (d) panel
Attention must be ______ to both the cyclical and the structural causes of the ______ slowdown. (a) sought, remote (b) paid, economic (c) given, funding (d) drawn, sharing
Policymakers were under ______ to reassure investors, so the ______ of the announcement was no surprise. (a) options, prioritise (b) pressure, timing (c) sober, sequence (d) demand, luckily
The two organisations have ______ among themselves the territories in which each will ______ . (a) profited, industry (b) demarcated, operate (c) leveraged, scarce (d) dampened, explore
The judiciary must ______ the perception that its independence is ______ . (a) poised, growing (b) dispel, faltering (c) flying, settled (d) confirm, secure
She is good ______ mathematics but finds physics difficult. (a) in (b) at (c) on (d) for
The proposal received ______ support across party lines. (a) hostile (b) bipartisan (c) fragmented (d) reluctant
The report ______ two years ago and has not been revised since. (a) has been published (b) was published (c) is published (d) had been published

Quick Facts

Answer key, with the deciding clue named in each case.

1. (b) silent. Remained is a linking verb, so it takes an adjective.
2. (c) rose. The number of takes a singular verb, and the finished past event needs the simple past.
3. (b) ages. All must be followed by a plural noun.
4. (b) exercise. Patience and restraint are exercised; laws are enforced.
5. (b) round. Another must be followed by a singular noun.
6. (b) arrest. Here arrest means to halt a decline, not to detain a person.
7. (b) broke out. A fire is a sudden negative event.
8. (c) troupe. The group noun for dancers and performers.
9. (b) paid, economic. Attention is paid, and a slowdown with cyclical and structural causes is economic.
10. (b) pressure, timing. Under demands a noun, and only one option supplies a sensible one.
11. (b) demarcated, operate. Territories are demarcated, and organisations operate in them.
12. (b) dispel, faltering. A perception is dispelled, and the sentence describes weakening independence.
13. (b) at. Skills take good at.
14. (b) bipartisan. Across party lines means both sides agreed, so the other three reverse the sense.
15. (b) was published. Two years ago is a finished past period and cannot take a perfect tense.

Count how many of those fifteen were decided by grammar alone: items 1, 2, 3, 5, 13 and 15, which is nearly half. That is why the grammar check comes first. Practise the same order with the free English MCQ quizzes and full papers from the mock test archive.

Quick Revision

What the question is. A sentence is given with one or two words missing, and you choose the option that completes it correctly.
Why it is harder than it looks. A filler is a standalone sentence with no passage around it, so every clue you need must come from inside that one sentence.
The order to work in. Check grammar first, then meaning, then collocation, and use elimination throughout.
Why the order matters. Grammar rules options out completely, meaning only narrows what is left, and collocation decides between the final two.
Always read to the full stop. The clue that decides the answer is often in the last few words, far from the blank.
Name the word class first. Ask whether the blank needs a noun, verb, adjective, adverb or preposition before you compare any meanings.
Linking verbs take adjectives. After become, remain, seem and appear you need an adjective, not a noun.
All, several and many take plural nouns, so it is people of all denominations rather than denomination.
Another, each and every take singular nouns, so it is another round of reforms rather than another rounds.
The number of takes a singular verb, while a number of takes a plural one.
Match the verb to the head noun, not to whichever noun happens to sit closest to the blank.
Time markers fix the tense. Ago, yesterday and last month force the simple past, while since and for call for a perfect tense.
Articles carry clues. An requires a vowel sound in the next word, which can eliminate two options in a second.
A preposition before the blank needs a noun or gerund, never a finite verb.
Rise takes no object and raise takes one, so the sun rises but you raise your voice.
Negative sudden events break out. Riots, fires and wars break out, while ceremonies and sessions commence.
Arrest has a second meaning. Besides detaining a person, it means to halt a process, as when investment arrests a decline.
Group nouns are specific. Dancers form a troupe, musicians an orchestra and officials a committee.
Rather goes with undesirable adjectives and very with desirable ones, so rather bleak but very promising.
Watch for redundancy. A word that repeats an idea already in the sentence is a planted distractor, as with boom well.
Fixed prepositions must be memorised. Good at, interested in, depend on, different from, capable of, abide by, prone to and entrusted with.
Fixed pairings decide close options. Attention is paid, restraint is exercised, a decision is made and a perception is dispelled.
In a double filler, solve one blank alone. Choose whichever has the stronger grammatical clue and ignore the second for the moment.
Then eliminate whole pairs. A pair fails if either of its words is wrong, so one solved blank usually leaves a single option standing.
Check the direction of the sentence. A positive sentence takes a positive word and a negative one takes a negative word.
A difficult word is not more likely to be right. Rare words are planted to attract guesses.
Read your answer back. Put the chosen word into the sentence and read the whole thing before marking.
Timing. Give a single filler twenty to twenty-five seconds and a double filler about thirty.
Weight. Expect three to five questions in a bank paper and one to three in SSC Tier 1, with more in Tier 2.
Best preparation. Read one editorial a day and note the word pairs, since fillers are built from exactly that kind of writing.

Fillers are among the fastest marks in the English section once the order becomes automatic, because nearly half of them are settled by grammar before meaning is even considered. So name the word class first, read to the full stop, and in double fillers solve one blank and let it eliminate the pairs. Build the underlying rules through subject-verb agreement and tenses, and the pairing sense through collocations and synonyms and antonyms. Since exam sentences are lifted from economy and policy writing, ten minutes of daily current affairs reading supplies most of the vocabulary you need, and the wider set is in the topic-wise English notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are fillers in competitive exams?

Fillers, also called fill in the blanks, are questions where one or two words are missing from a sentence and you choose the option that completes it. They test grammar, vocabulary and contextual understanding together.

How is a filler different from a cloze test?

A filler is a standalone sentence with no passage around it, so every clue must come from that single sentence. A cloze test has blanks spread across a connected passage, where earlier and later sentences help you decide.

In what order should I solve a filler?

Grammar first, then meaning, then collocation, with elimination throughout. Grammar removes options completely, meaning narrows what survives, and the natural word pairing decides between the last two.

What is the fastest way to solve a double filler?

Solve whichever blank has the stronger grammatical clue, then strike out every pair whose word for that blank is wrong. A pair fails if either word is wrong, so one solved blank usually leaves a single option.

Which grammar rules are tested most often?

Subject-verb agreement with a long noun phrase, tense fixed by a time marker, linking verbs taking an adjective, singular and plural markers such as all and another, and fixed prepositions.

What is the difference between rise and raise?

Rise takes no object, so the sun rises and prices rise. Raise takes an object, so you raise your voice and a bank raises rates. If a noun follows the blank, the verb must be raise.

When do I use broke out instead of commenced?

Broke out is used for sudden negative events such as wars, fires, riots and epidemics. Commenced is used for neutral or positive events such as a ceremony, a journey or a session.

Should I write twenty-five year old or twenty-five years old?

Both are correct in different positions. Before a noun it is hyphenated and singular, as in a twenty-five-year-old candidate. After a verb the plural is correct, as in he is twenty-five years old.

How many filler questions are asked?

Bank papers usually carry three to five, while SSC Tier 1 carries one to three with more in Tier 2. Railway and defence papers ask two to four on simpler vocabulary.

How much time should one filler take?

Twenty to twenty-five seconds for a single blank and about thirty for a double. If two options survive after the pairing check, choose one and move on rather than spending a minute on a single mark.

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