11+ Vocabulary: How Many Words Your Child Needs and How to Learn Them

Vocabulary costs children marks twice in the 11+. It is tested directly in verbal reasoning, in questions about synonyms, opposites and word links. And it decides how much of an English comprehension passage your child understands, because one unknown word in a key sentence can change the meaning of the whole paragraph.

Parents ask me two questions about it. How many words does my child need, and what is the best way to learn them? Here are my honest answers.

How many words does my child need?

There is no official 11+ word list. The exam boards do not publish one, and the lists sold online are somebody's selection of the words that tend to come up.

A sensible target is the word bank behind our own practice material, which has 1,396 words. They are the kind of words that appear in good children's fiction and in a quality newspaper, words like reluctant, abundant, frail and vivid. A child who knows most of them well will meet very few surprises in a synonym or opposite question.

Knowing a word well is the important part. It means your child can pick it out from four close options under time pressure, which is a much higher bar than recognising it in a story.

Why word lists on their own don't work

Reading down a list of words and meanings feels productive, and a week later most of it has gone. Reading a word teaches your child to recognise it. The exam asks them to recall its meaning and choose between options that are close together.

The wrong options in a good 11+ question are chosen carefully. Often one is a word that sounds similar, and another is the opposite meaning, because those are the mistakes children make when they are rushing. Asked for a word that means the same as brave, a child who half knows the words can be pulled towards timid, because it is connected in their memory, even though it means the reverse.

What moves a word from recognised to known is being tested on it, getting it wrong, and then using it.

How a new word sticks

1. Test first. Ten minutes of questions a day, rather than an hour at the weekend. Short, regular practice is what builds memory, in the same way that a few minutes of piano practice every day beats one long session.
2. Look up every word missed. Each wrong answer is a word worth learning. Your child reads the meaning and says it back to you in their own words.
3. Use it in a sentence. Ask your child to put the word into a sentence about their own life. "My brother was reluctant to share his sweets" will be remembered long after a definition.
4. Retest two weeks later. Go back to any set where your child scored below 80%. A score that holds two weeks on is one you can trust on exam day.

Ten minutes a day, for free

Our 11+ Verbal Reasoning Game is built around that routine. It has over 3,000 questions across 17 verbal reasoning question types, from synonyms and opposites to hidden words, letter codes and word grids. It is free, with no account and no email.

A round lasts 60 seconds by default, and your child can choose longer rounds or no clock at all. Right answers build a streak that multiplies the score, which keeps children coming back for another go.

The part that does the teaching is what happens after a wrong answer. The clock stops, the right answer appears with a plain explanation, and the game saves the question. At the end of the round your child can practise only the ones they missed, which is step 2 of the routine done for you.

For vocabulary, start with Synonyms and Opposites on Easy. When your child is scoring well, move up a level, then add Analogies, which test how two words are linked. The Big Mix shuffles every type, which is closer to how a real paper feels.

If you prefer paper

Some children concentrate better with a pencil. Our 11+ Vocabulary Mastery Pack has the same 1,396 synonym questions and 990 opposite questions as three printable books, cut into 120 daily tests of 20. Every test has a score box and a date line, every question has a keyed answer, and there is an A to Z list at the back so every word tested can be looked up without a dictionary.

A good rhythm is one paper test a day, marked straight away, with every missed word written on the "words I keep getting wrong" sheet at the front of the book.

Reading still does the long term work

Practice questions make words stick, but reading is where your child meets them in the first place. Twenty minutes of reading most days, ideally a little above their comfort level, does more for vocabulary over a year than anything else.

Two small habits help. When you read together, pick three words from each chapter and talk about what they mean. And at dinner, choose a word of the day and see who can use it most naturally before bedtime.

What to do this week

Try a quick check tonight. Ask your child for a word that means the same as each of these: reluctant, abundant, frail, vivid, cautious. Then ask for the opposite of generous.

Good answers are unwilling, plentiful, weak, bright, careful and selfish. If three or more of the six stall, ten minutes of daily practice will make a visible difference within a few weeks. If your child answers all six easily, move them straight on to Analogies and the Big Mix.

Start with a 60 second Synonyms round on the verbal reasoning game and see how many your child gets. For the non-verbal side of the 11+, our free Shape Sleuth game covers nine question types, and our guide to 11+ maths preparation covers the maths.

Aadam, SHLC Tutors