TOEFL iBT Practice Questions (2026) — Free Sample Questions with Answers

Answer: B

He would prefer to keep the 7:00 start time.: Over-reads the message: Mateo accepts the 6:00 start ("I'll make it") rather than objecting to it.

He will barely have time to arrive after lab.: Correct. Lab ends at 5:45 and the meeting starts at 6; "cutting it close" means leaving only a small margin of time, yet he says he will arrive.

He may have to leave before the lounge closes at 8.: Wrong time: his concern is the gap between 5:45 and 6:00 at the start, not the end of the meeting.

He doubts the poster will be finished in time.: Right idea of time pressure applied to the wrong thing: "make it" refers to arriving at the meeting, not finishing the poster.

To interpret a quoted line, connect it to the message it answers (here, the new 6:00 start) and to facts the writer gives (lab until 5:45).

Answer: D

A plan to replace the dryers: Incorrect: the dryers are getting new card readers, not being replaced.

Rules for sharing the machines: Incorrect: true only of the last sentence; most of the notice is about payment.

Where to get a campus ID card: Incorrect: the notice tells residents where to add money to an ID they already have.

A new way to pay for laundry: Correct. most of the notice explains the switch from coins to card payment and how to add money to a campus ID.

A main-idea answer covers most of the text; an option true of only one sentence is a detail.

Answer: B

formally voted on: Incorrect: this is the sense of "adopt" used for a law or motion; towns are not voting here, they are starting to use the time in daily life.

began to use: Correct. paragraph 3 says towns "adopted railroad time for everyday use", meaning they took it up and started using it, which the complaint about companies deciding the hour confirms.

openly resisted: Incorrect: this is the opposite idea; resistance came only from "some residents", introduced by "although".

slightly changed: Incorrect: nothing suggests the towns altered railroad time; they used it as it was.

For vocabulary items, replace the word with each option and keep the one that fits the sentence's own context, not just a dictionary sense.

Answer: onry

1. Full word: "masonry" (mas____ + onry).
2. Clue: the subject of "resists" is the building material of arches and bridges in sentence 1: stone or brick work, called "masonry".
3. Why nothing else fits: "massive" fits "mas" + 4 letters but is an adjective and cannot be a subject; "mastery" makes no sense with compression.

The word is "masonry". Decide the part of speech the slot needs first, then use the visible letters and the letter count (4 missing) to confirm the one word that fits.

Answer: C

It would be harder to see from above than a shark.: Wrong direction: the shark is hidden from above because its dark back matches the deep water; a pale back would not match.

It would be better hidden from birds on land.: Mixes in the land experiment, which tested prey that were darker on top, not an ocean animal shaded the other way.

It would be easy to spot from above.: Correct. Paragraph 3 says a shark's dark back "blends with the deep water below it" when seen from above; a pale back would contrast with that dark water, so the animal would be conspicuous from above.

It would blend with the bright surface when seen from below.: The reverse: a pale belly "matches the bright surface", so a dark belly would stand out against it.

For "what can be inferred" items, apply the passage's rule to the new case and reverse it carefully; one wrong step usually leads to a distractor.

Answer: B

Option A: "The first" needs a list to refer to, but at (A) the sentence would come before "Several features" are introduced, so "the first" has no referent.

Option B: Correct. "The first" refers back to "Several features of city life", and "the shape of the city itself" introduces the next sentence, which describes tall buildings and narrow streets. The sentence links the general claim to its first example.

Option C: Too late: the description of buildings and streets would already be finished, and the sentence would wrongly present cars and factories as "the shape of the city".

Option D: Waste heat has already been discussed here, so calling the next point "the first" breaks the order; the sentence after (D) is about plants, not the city's shape.

In insertion items, look for words that point backward ("the first", "this", "such") and find the one location where they have a referent and lead into what follows.

Answer: apes

1. Full word: "scrapes" (scr____ + apes).
2. Clue: the singular subject "Rock ... within the ice" needs a present-tense verb with "-s"; the next clause calls the process "abrasion", which means scraping.
3. Why nothing else fits: "screens", "scripts" and "scrolls" fit the letter count but not the meaning; "scraped" would break the present tense used throughout.

The word is "scrapes". Decide the part of speech the slot needs first, then use the visible letters and the letter count (4 missing) to confirm the one word that fits.

Answer: C

To show that French borrowed many English words: Reverses the direction: English borrowed the word from French.

To show how a word's sound changes after borrowing: That is the purpose of the "ice cream" example, not "beef."

To illustrate how a borrowed word's meaning can narrow: Correct. The French word could mean the ox or its meat, but in English "it settled on just the meat"; the example shows a borrowed word ending up with a narrower meaning, which the professor offers as a case of meaning shifting.

To explain why food words are hard to trace: Tracing word histories is the next topic, and food words are not called hard to trace.

For purpose-of-example questions, find the general point stated next to the example ("Sometimes the meaning shifts too").

Answer: B

He has asked to join the Thursday section.: Reverses the direction: he is in Thursday and asked about moving to Tuesday.

He may be willing to swap sections.: Correct. He asked about moving to Tuesday, and she says "if he still wants to," so a trade is possible but not certain.

He has already agreed to the trade.: Overstates it: "if he still wants to" shows he has not agreed yet.

He needs written permission to stay.: The request for something "in writing" is about the trade, not about Hyun-woo staying.

Hedges such as "if he still wants to" signal possibility, not certainty; avoid options that turn them into facts.

Answer: D

Yes, I'm taking it this semester, actually.: Answers "yes" to a choice question; he asked which format, not whether she is taking the course.

I typed my history paper online.: Repeats "history" and the idea of computers, but describes a different assignment.

It starts at nine in the main gym.: On topic (the final), but it answers "when and where", not "which format".

My handwriting's too messy for paper.: Correct. She chooses without naming the option: if her handwriting is too messy for a paper exam, she must be taking it on a computer.

Choice questions are often answered with a reason that rules one option out; decide which choice the reason leaves.

Answer: A

To show that an immediate test can hide a real difference: Correct. Both groups score about the same right away, but the spaced group remembers far more a month later; the professor concludes that immediate performance is not a reliable sign of learning.

To show that cramming gives better results on immediate tests: The groups did "about equally well" right after studying, not better with cramming.

To explain why unfamiliar languages are hard to remember: An unfamiliar language was chosen so that no one knew the words; difficulty is not the point.

To argue that a month is the best gap between sessions: A month is when memory was tested, not a recommended gap between study sessions.

To find the purpose of an example, read the sentence that follows it: "So how well you do right after studying isn’t a reliable sign…".

Answer: D

To explain why she booked the room so late: She never says her booking was late.

To ask the man to help her design the slides: She asks for no help with the slides themselves.

To show that her group is ready to present: The point is the equipment they need, not how prepared they are.

To indicate that Room 7 may not suit her needs: Correct. Right after the man says Room 7 has no big screen, she says they need to practice with slides — implying Room 7 is a problem. The man then offers a projector.

For "Why does the speaker mention…" look at what was said just before: here the remark answers the man’s point about the missing screen.

Answer: D

I joined the cooking club last spring.: Repeats "join" and "cooking" in a different situation; it does not answer the invitation.

Saturday dinners are usually crowded.: On topic, but it is a general comment, not an acceptance or a refusal.

They cooked far more than we needed.: Wrong people and tense: it describes a past meal by someone else.

Only if you let me bring dessert.: Correct. The invitation calls for a yes or no; "Only if you let me bring dessert" accepts while offering to contribute.

Invitations are often accepted indirectly, for example with a condition or an offer to help; the reply must still clearly respond to the invitation.

Answer: let me know → which chapters → you would like → me → to summarize

let me know: The polite request "Could you let me know" comes first.

which chapters: The question phrase begins the embedded question.

you would like: Subject + verb in statement order (not "would you like").

me: The object of "like" comes before the infinitive ("like me to…").

to summarize: The infinitive completes "would like me to summarize."

Correct sentence: "No problem. Could you let me know which chapters you would like me to summarize?" An indirect request puts the embedded question in statement order, and "would like" takes object + to-infinitive. On the real test there may be one extra tile you don't use.