Change one letter
The first word turns into the last by changing one letter at a time. Find the real word in the middle.

What the question looks like
COLD ( ? ) CARD
How Thena would solve it
Mark the letters that change between the first word and the last: the O and the L.
COLD → CARD
Change one of them at a time: CALD or CORD.
CALD CORD
Only CORD is a real word, so the ladder goes COLD, CORD, CARD.
Answer: CORD
The usual mistakes
Changing two letters at once
Each step changes one letter only.
A middle word that isn’t real
Say it aloud: CALD isn’t a word.
Changing a letter that stays
Mark the letters that differ before you start.
Try ten
Ten change one letter questions
A new set every time, marked when you finish.
Have paper and a pencil ready for working out.

Questions parents ask
How do you answer Change one letter questions?
Mark the letters that differ between the first and last words. Change one of them at a time and check which middle word is real.
More in letters in words
- Insert a letterOne letter that ends one word and starts the next.
- Move a letterOne letter moves to make two new words.
All 21 kinds of verbal reasoning question
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