Guess the word from clues: 10 puzzles with answers

Use the clues, word length and starting letter to find each answer, then open its reveal to check your reasoning. These ten original puzzles get gradually trickier. They are sample puzzles for this page, not today’s Word Sense answers, and there is no timer.

Read all the clues before settling on a word. A synonym that fits one line may fail the length or another meaning. The later puzzles lean more on abstract ideas and words with more than one use.

1. Something for the rain

I open above your head and fold away afterwards. I help keep rain off you. 8 letters, starts with U.

2. A useful measure

I have evenly spaced markings. You can use me to draw a straight line. My name can also mean a person who governs. 5 letters, starts with R.

3. On a garden visitor

I am the spiral home carried by a snail. My word also names the hard outside of an egg. 5 letters, starts with S.

4. Keep your place

You can put me between pages before closing a book. On the web, I save a page you want to revisit. 8 letters, starts with B.

5. A voice coming back

You shout in a suitable empty space and hear me repeat it. I am sound reflected back towards you. 4 letters, starts with E.

6. A word that turns around

I describe a word or phrase that reads the same forwards and backwards when spacing and punctuation are ignored. “Level” is an example. 10 letters, starts with P.

7. Not quite willing

“She was ___ to lend her favourite book to someone she had just met.” I mean hesitant or unwilling, rather than eager. 9 letters, starts with R.

8. Two readings

“The instruction was ___, so half the group turned left and half turned right.” I describe wording that allows more than one interpretation. 9 letters, starts with A.

9. Gone all too soon

“The soap bubble’s beauty was ___.” I mean lasting for only a short time. 9 letters, starts with E.

10. No extra flourishes

“His ___ reply was just ‘No.’” I describe a style that uses very few words. 7 letters, starts with L.

How to use a clue you are stuck on

First decide what kind of word is needed. An object clue usually points to a noun; a gap after “was” may need an adjective. Next, make a small list of plausible answers, then apply the length and initial. Do not discard a sensible early guess as foolish just because a later clue rules it out.

In these exercises all the constraints are visible. In Word Sense, you begin with sentence context and choose whether to reveal more clues. A wrong guess also spends a clue. Our worked three-word round shows exactly how that changes the decision. If you prefer supplied letter fragments, compare other clue-solving games.