Ich wurde gebeten, hier zu warten.

This confuses me. “Gebeten” is from the verb “bitten” = to ask (something of someone) whereas “geboten” is from the verb “bieten” = “to offer” but can also mean “demanded” or “commanded”? I guess I just need to learn these.

I try to imagine how a native speaker of German is thinking, the way he/she is picturing the action. Apparently, this person feels he wasn’t asked politely if he’d like to wait, but rather told to do so. Clozemaster’s sentences are always less confusing to me if I imagine them in a story, particularly the old fashioned ones people complain about, which one might very easily come across reading German literature.

You are right: The speaker was told to wait. But not necessarily unpolitely.
If you want to imagine a story:
Someone wants to visit a friend and he is told (or asked) to wait in the library. Then another unknown person enters the room and asks: “What are you doing here?” “ich wurde gebeten, hier zu warten.”
Nothing unpolite.

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