Cloze Passage - ESL English - Free Printable

Let’s go step by step to fill in the blanks using the word bank:

Word bank:
fruits, funny, rainforests, feathers, pets, colorful, fascinating, strong

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1. “Parrots are ________ and clever birds.”
→ We need a word that describes parrots along with “clever”. Looking at the options, “funny” fits well — parrots are often seen as funny because they mimic sounds and act silly.
✔ funny

2. “They have bright ________ and are often green, red, or blue.”
→ This is talking about their appearance — specifically what makes them colorful. The word “feathers” fits here — parrots have bright feathers.
✔ feathers

3. “Parrots can talk, and they make ________ sounds.”
→ Again, describing the kind of sounds — since they’re known for mimicking and being amusing, “funny” could work… but we already used “funny” in #1. Wait — let’s check if words can be reused? The worksheet doesn’t say not to reuse, but usually these use each word once. Let’s hold off and look ahead.

Actually, looking again — maybe “funny” was best for #1, and here perhaps another word? But none other really fit “sounds” except “funny”. Hmm.

Wait — let’s list all sentences first and match logically.

4. “They live in warm and sunny places like the ________.”
→ Obvious answer: rainforests — that’s where many parrots live naturally.
✔ rainforests

5. “Parrots love to eat ________ and seeds.”
→ Common knowledge: parrots eat fruits and seeds. So fruits fits perfectly.
✔ fruits

6. “They can fly really well with their ________ wings.”
→ What kind of wings help them fly well? “Strong” wings make sense — powerful muscles and structure.
✔ strong

7. “Some people keep parrots as ________ because they are friendly and love to play.”
→ People keep animals as companions — so pets is correct.
✔ pets

8. “Parrots are wonderful and ________ birds!”
→ Final blank — needs a positive adjective. Leftover words from bank: we’ve used: funny, feathers, rainforests, fruits, strong, pets. Remaining: colorful, fascinating

“Colorful” describes their looks — which we already mentioned earlier (“bright feathers... green, red, or blue”). But it still fits here as a general trait.

“Fascinating” means interesting or captivating — also fits.

But note: sentence 2 says “bright feathers and are often green, red, or blue” — that’s already covering “colorful”.

So maybe “fascinating” is better for the last one — to end on a note about how amazing they are.

Also, check: did we use “colorful” yet? Not yet. Actually, let’s reassign.

Wait — let’s map all 8 blanks and 8 words.

Blanks:
1. Parrots are ___ and clever → ?
2. bright ___ → feathers (must be)
3. make ___ sounds → ?
4. like the ___ → rainforests (must be)
5. eat ___ and seeds → fruits (must be)
6. with their ___ wings → strong (makes sense)
7. keep as ___ → pets (must be)
8. wonderful and ___ birds → ?

Used so far: feathers, rainforests, fruits, strong, pets → 5 words

Left: funny, colorful, fascinating

Now assign:

Blank 1: “Parrots are ___ and clever” → “funny” works great.

Blank 3: “make ___ sounds” → could be “funny” again? But if we avoid repetition, maybe not. Is there another option? “Fascinating sounds”? Doesn’t sound right. “Colorful sounds”? No — colors aren’t sounds.

So probably “funny” is intended for blank 3? But then blank 1 needs something else.

Alternative: Maybe blank 1 is “fascinating”? “Parrots are fascinating and clever birds” — yes, that works!

Then blank 3: “make funny sounds” — perfect.

Then blank 8: “wonderful and colorful birds” — even though we talked about feather colors earlier, “colorful” as a general descriptor still fits nicely at the end.

That uses all 8 words without repetition.

Let’s confirm:

Words:
- funny → blank 3 (sounds)
- fascinating → blank 1 (and clever)
- colorful → blank 8 (wonderful and ___)
- feathers → blank 2
- rainforests → blank 4
- fruits → blank 5
- strong → blank 6
- pets → blank 7

Perfect — all 8 words used once.

Final filled sentences:

Parrots are fascinating and clever birds.
They have bright feathers and are often green, red, or blue.
Parrots can talk, and they make funny sounds. They live in warm and sunny places like the rainforests.
Parrots love to eat fruits and seeds.
They can fly really well with their strong wings. Some people keep parrots as pets because they are friendly and love to play.
Parrots are wonderful and colorful birds!

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Final Answer:
fascinating, feathers, funny, rainforests, fruits, strong, pets, colorful