Quiz-Tree

Fill-in-the-Blank Idiom Exercises

Ever freeze on an English idiom because you cannot recall the one word that makes it click? These fill-in-the-blank idiom exercises turn that little gap into the best way to lock the whole phrase into memory.

Common American Idioms for Everyday English

Each quiz drops you into a real sentence with a single word missing, and your job is to supply it. You complete familiar phrases like cool as a cucumber (calm under pressure), a piece of cake (very easy), all the rage (very popular), and bite the bullet (face something hard), the kind of expressions native speakers use without thinking.

The idioms here come from small talk, work, and casual conversation, so the practice carries straight into real life. Pitched at an intermediate level, the sets are a comfortable next step once you have the basics of English down. Filling in the missing word also forces you to recall the phrase instead of just reading past it, which is exactly what helps it stick.

Did You Know?

Some idioms have surprisingly specific origins. Catch-22, meaning a no-win situation where the rules trap you either way, comes straight from Joseph Heller's 1961 novel of the same name.

Others started somewhere unexpected. To pass the buck, or shift responsibility to someone else, comes from poker, where a marker called a buck sat in front of whoever was due to deal next.

How the Idiom Quizzes Work

Each quiz is short, only about five minutes, and you can repeat any of the 9 quizzes as often as you like until the phrases feel natural. Because the idioms appear inside everyday sentences, you also pick up how and when to use them, not just what they mean. Want to sound more like a native speaker? Jump into the free interactive English quizzes and start filling in the blanks.

4. Idiom Practice 1

This fill-in-the-blank quiz tests 10 common American idioms by leaving out the key word for you to supply. You finish a sentence like No matter how aggravated the customers get, she stays as cool as a ___. or Are you guys going to tie the ___ this year? which is a fun way to build natural-sounding English. One phrase here has a clear source: the expression catch-22 comes straight from Joseph Heller's 1961 novel of the same name, where it describes a no-win situation with rules that trap you either way. Recommended level: intermediate.

score: 82% (everyone)

5. Idiom Practice 2

Another round of 10 idioms, this quiz asks you to drop in the one word that completes each saying. You might fill in Buying a new car was a piece of ___. or Flat screen TVs are all the ___ these days. picking up everyday expressions as you go. A fun bit of history: the phrase lame duck started out on the London stock exchange, where it described a trader who could not pay his debts, long before it came to mean a politician on the way out. Recommended level: intermediate.

score: 85% (everyone)

6. Idiom Practice 3

This idioms quiz gives you 10 sentences with a missing word, each one part of a well-known phrase. You could complete The property taxes in this area have gone through the ___. or Let's meet them first and then play it by ___. training your ear for the way these sayings actually sound. Recommended level: intermediate.

score: 83% (everyone)

7. Idiom Practice 4

Ten more idioms show up here, and your job is to supply the missing word that completes each one. Sentences like The salesperson was quick to pass the ___ to the manager. or We decided to bite the ___ and move to California. keep the focus on phrases people really use. Here is a tidbit worth knowing: to pass the buck comes from poker, where a marker called a buck sat by the next player due to deal. Sliding it along meant handing off the duty, which is exactly what the phrase means today. Recommended level: intermediate.

score: 72% (everyone)

8. Idiom Practice 5

This quiz keeps the idioms coming, with 10 sentences each missing a single key word. You fill in lines like They hired a new manager to get the ball ___ on that project. or OK people, it's crunch ___! which helps these expressions stick in your memory. A literal origin sits behind one of them: burning the midnight oil dates to the days before electricity, when working late really did mean keeping an oil lamp lit well past dark. The image of late nights simply stuck around. Recommended level: intermediate.

score: 84% (everyone)

9. Idiom Practice 6

Here you get 10 idioms presented as fill-in-the-blank sentences, with one word left out of each. You might complete She always passes her exams with flying ___. or Comparing cars and boats is a lot like comparing ___ to oranges. picking up phrasing that sounds natural to native speakers. One has a surprisingly literal root: red tape refers to the actual red ribbon once used to tie up official documents, so cutting through it came to mean getting past pointless bureaucratic rules. Recommended level: intermediate.

score: 87% (everyone)

10. Idiom Practice 7

This idioms quiz offers 10 sentences, each waiting for the one word that finishes a familiar saying. You could fill in It all became public when she ___ the whistle. or When the fire started, she was the first one to step up to the ___. strengthening your grip on conversational English. A nice image lies behind one phrase: when something happens out of the blue, the blue is a clear blue sky, so the expression compares a sudden surprise to a bolt of lightning striking from a cloudless day. Recommended level: intermediate.

score: 79% (everyone)

11. Idiom Practice 8

Ten idioms make up this quiz, each shown as a sentence with a gap for you to fill. You might finish What other surprises have you got up your ___? or She likes to tell a joke when she needs to break the ___. getting comfortable with sayings that pop up all the time. One expression even appears in the quiz and has a smelly origin: a red herring, a strongly smoked fish, was supposedly used to throw hunting dogs off a scent, which is why it now means a clue meant to mislead. Recommended level: intermediate.

score: 87% (everyone)

12. Idiom Practice 9

This idioms quiz is a longer one, packing in 19 fill-in-the-blank sentences. You complete lines like She works night and day to make ends ___. or Trust me, I got this news straight from the ___ mouth. giving you plenty of practice in one sitting. A sailing term shows up here: learning the ropes once meant figuring out the many ropes that controlled a ship's sails, a real skill new sailors had to master, which is why it now means getting the hang of a new job. Recommended level: intermediate.

score: 87% (everyone)