PTE Core's Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers reading task asks you to read a short passage of up to 275 words and choose every option that is correct, with no indication of how many that is. Because Pearson penalises each wrong tick as well as rewarding each right one, selecting every option that sounds plausible is the fastest way to lose points you already earned.
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers — PTE Core Practice Questions
Read the passage and select all correct answers. More than one option is correct. Practise with answers and explanations for PTE Core. Review your mistakes and repeat each question to build confidence.
PTE Academic version of this page187 questions · PTE Core
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What Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers tests
Reading: Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers presents a passage of up to 275 words in PTE Core, followed by a question with several options. More than one option can be correct, and the test does not tell you how many answers to select.
PTE Core includes only 1-2 items of this type per test, fewer than the 2-3 that appear in PTE Academic, so you get fewer chances to recover from a careless selection on this task type.
For Express Entry, your PTE Core Score Report, and the Reading result this task feeds into, must be less than two years old both when you submit your profile and again when you submit the permanent residence application, so a lapsed test cannot be reused indefinitely.
Format and timing
There is no separate timer for this task; it shares the Reading section clock, which covers 27 to 37 minutes across all five Core reading task types.
With only 1-2 items on the test, budget a fixed few minutes per item so a difficult passage does not consume time needed for the other four reading task types.
How it is scored
Scoring is partial credit with negative marking: each correct option you select adds one point, and each incorrect option you select subtracts one point, down to a minimum of 0 for the item. There is no bonus for ticking every option, and no advantage in leaving all boxes empty.
Because wrong ticks cost points, only select an option when the passage supports it. An empty guess scores 0, the same floor as a wrong one, so unsupported guesses only risk points, never gain them.
Step-by-step approach
This is a suggested routine, not an official procedure. It treats the question as a checklist of separate claims, which is what negative marking effectively turns it into.
- Read the question before the passage so you know what to look for.
- Read the whole passage once for overall meaning.
- Check each option against the passage individually, treating every option as its own true-or-false question.
- Select only options the passage directly supports; skip anything that requires an assumption.
- Recheck selected options against the exact wording of the passage before moving on.
Example (written by LexiPTE)
Example (written by LexiPTE), not a real exam item. Passage: a notice explaining that a community centre's Saturday programme now includes a free legal-advice clinic and a language-exchange meetup, but that the previous Saturday cooking class has been moved to Wednesdays.
Question: 'Which of the following are true, according to the notice?' Options: (A) The community centre now runs a free legal-advice clinic on Saturdays; (B) The cooking class has been cancelled; (C) A language-exchange meetup has been added on Saturdays; (D) Wednesday classes were introduced for the first time this term.
A and C are correct because the notice states both directly. B is wrong because the class was moved, not cancelled, a common trap in this task type. D is wrong because the notice never says Wednesday classes are new. Selecting only A and C, and leaving B and D unticked, scores the item in full.
Strategies
Each of these habits aims at the same outcome: fewer wrong ticks without missing options the notice or article clearly supports.
- Treat each option as an independent statement to verify, not as part of a group to compare against each other.
- Watch for options that are almost true but change one detail, such as a date, a number or a cause, from the passage.
- Do not assume an option is correct just because it reuses words from the passage; check the actual claim.
- If you are still unsure about an option after one check, leave it unticked rather than guess, since wrong ticks cost points.
Common mistakes
Most lost points on this task come from over-selecting rather than from misunderstanding the passage.
- Selecting an option because it 'sounds right' rather than checking it against the passage.
- Ticking too many options to cover all bases, which multiplies the negative-marking risk.
- Confusing a detail that was moved, delayed or changed with one that was removed or added.
- Spending too long on this task and running short of time for the rest of the Reading section.
Practice plan
Practise with short, single-topic passages first so you can isolate the skill of checking each option independently, before moving to longer 275-word Core-length texts.
Log how often you tick a wrong option versus how often you miss a correct one; the two errors call for different fixes, slowing down for wrong ticks and reading more carefully for missed answers.
This task counts only toward your PTE Core Reading score, which IRCC converts to a Canadian Language Benchmark level: CLB 7 needs 60-68, CLB 6 needs 51-59, and CLB 5 needs 42-50 on the Reading scale. Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class (TEER 0 or 1) applicants need CLB 7 in Reading; Canadian Experience Class (TEER 2 or 3) applicants need CLB 5. Pearson does not publish how much each task type is weighted, but with only 1-2 of these items on the test, it is worth treating every tick as a decision you can justify from the passage.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
As many as the passage supports and no more. The task does not tell you the correct number in advance, and each wrong tick loses a point.
Yes. Each correct option adds one point and each incorrect option subtracts one point, with the item score floored at 0.
1 to 2, fewer than the 2 to 3 that appear on PTE Academic.
Up to 275 words, shorter than the up to 350-word passages used in PTE Academic.
Reading only.
Pearson does not publish per-item or per-task weights, so there is no official figure. What is known is that PTE Core includes only 1-2 items of this type, and each item is scored with negative marking down to a floor of 0.
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers FAQ
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers gives you a passage and a question with more than one correct option. Treat every option as a separate claim: an incorrect selection subtracts a point, so broad or absolute statements deserve extra scrutiny before you select them.
Exam: PTE Academic and PTE Core. Scoring: +1 per correct selection, −1 per incorrect (item floor at zero).
Identify the question's focus before reading the passage in detail. Find explicit evidence for each option rather than choosing what sounds reasonable. Review uncertain selections carefully, since an incorrect choice reduces the item's score.
Selecting every plausible option instead of only the ones with clear evidence. Confusing a detail mentioned in the passage with a detail that answers the question.
Choose a published question, follow its reading instruction, and submit your own response.
Objective questions show the result returned by the server. Speaking and writing feedback appears only when an evaluator is available; the site does not invent a score.
Yes. Use the PTE Academic/Core picker. If this task is unavailable for the selected exam, the page asks you to choose a supported exam.
Academic focuses on English used in study and academic contexts. Core uses everyday and workplace English. Choose your exam in the header so your practice bank follows the appropriate exam.
No. PTE Reading uses a shared section timer. Individual LexiPTE practice is untimed: review the passage at your own pace and submit when you are ready.
Fill-in-the-blanks tasks earn a point for each correct gap. Single-answer questions earn one point for the correct option. Multiple-answer questions deduct a point for each incorrect selection, with a minimum item score of zero. Reorder Paragraphs awards points for correct adjacent pairs.
Yes. Submit an answer, inspect the feedback, then use Show answer for the key and explanation. Try again starts a fresh attempt. Opening an older attempt preserves your current answer; use Back to my answer in the banner at the top of the answer column to return.
Sign in to save submitted attempts to your account. Practice history is kept separately for each question and exam. Guest answers can be checked, but are not added to account history.
No. The points shown help you review an individual exercise. They are not a conversion to the official 10–90 scale, an official score report or a CLB result.
As many as the passage supports and no more. The task does not tell you the correct number in advance, and each wrong tick loses a point.
Yes. Each correct option adds one point and each incorrect option subtracts one point, with the item score floored at 0.
1 to 2, fewer than the 2 to 3 that appear on PTE Academic.
Up to 275 words, shorter than the up to 350-word passages used in PTE Academic.
Reading only.
Pearson does not publish per-item or per-task weights, so there is no official figure. What is known is that PTE Core includes only 1-2 items of this type, and each item is scored with negative marking down to a floor of 0.