Context Clues
Story lines and Words
Context Clues (Story Line)
• Hints that the author gives to help us define a difficult or unusual
word.
• The clues may appear within the same sentence as the word to which
it refers, or it may follow in a preceding sentence.
• Context clues are given to the readers to suggest the meanings of
new or difficult words
Note: Mastering context clues can be done when reading stories and
finding meaning to each word or phrase.
Context Clues (Story Line) Examples:
• “Father was ecstatic because Joshua decided to go to college that he
wanted him to.”
• What does ecstatic means?
• “It was an idyllic day – it was sunny, warm, and perfect for a walk in
the park.”
• What does idyllic means?
• “Bill felt remorse for bringing shame to his family.”
• What does remorse means?
Context Clues (Word)
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Let’s read and guess the meaning of the hifalutin words!
1. “He was imprisoned for his horrendous acts.”
2. “What a preposterous suggestion coming from a madman.”
3. “Some people find a ride in a rollercoaster exhilarating. Although, some
of them find it hard to enjoy.”
• 4. “The party was a total fiasco. It was a total waste of money and time.”
• 5. “The gave up on the puzzle believing it to be a conundrum.”
Highfalutin – elaborated and hard-to-understand words.
Context Clues (Words)
• There are certain ways to understand these clues such as:
• 1. Synonyms as Context clues
• 2. Antonyms as Context clues
• 3. Definition as Context clues
• 4. Explanation as Context clues
Context Clues (Words)
• 1. Synonyms as Context Clues – most basic and the most helpful way
to uncover context clues is to replace the word with its synonym or
words with similar meaning to it.
• Ex. “The building was huge, its big enough to be seen from miles
away.”
• Huge – means very big.
• Ex. “Your son is very clever. He is one of my brightest students.”
• Clever – quick to understand, easy to teach.
Context Clues (Words)
• 1. Antonyms – understanding a word by identifying the opposite word
of the clue. If you point out the differences, you can come to
understand each component better.
• Ex. “Marty is gregarious, unlike his brother who is quiet and shy.”
• Gregarious – popular and fond of company
• Ex. “Attempting to avoid the accident was futile; it was impossible for
either of them to stop in time.”
• Futile – pointless/incapable of producing useful results
Context Clues (Words)
• 3. Definition as context clue – the word was followed by a sentence
that is its straightforward definition
• Ex. “The manager wanted a weekly inspection, which is a methodical
examination of all the equipment.”
• Inspection was defined by the following sentence
• Ex. “The doctor’s writing was utterly illegible; no one could read those
scribbles.
• Illegible was defined as hard to read scribbles.
Context Clues (Words)
• 4. Explanation as context clues – by adding details and providing a
bigger picture, reading can understand tricky words.
• Ex. The team was elated because they just found out they placed in
the semifinals.
• Elated – ecstatically happy
• Ex. I called him a nuisance because he annoyed me with his incessant
line of questioning.
• Nuisance – causing inconvenience or annoyance
LET’S EXPAND OUR VOCABULARY
Read each sentence. Find the unfamiliar word and give its meaning.
1. She hums continuously, or all the time, and it annoys me.
2. His animosity, or hatred, of his sister divided the family.
3. She heard the cry of the banshee, a spirit that alludes to the death of a
family member.
4. Diane was lethargic; she didn't have the energy to get out of bed.
5. The dates are listed in chronological order; they start at the beginning and
end with the last event.
6. He knew his future was precarious and likely to fall apart.
LET’S EXPAND OUR VOCABULARY
Read each sentence. Find the unfamiliar word and give its meaning.
7. During the demonstration, a skirmish broke out so the police were
called to restore order.
8. Something in the refrigerator is so putrid, a wave of odor wafted out
when we opened the door.
9. It’s no surprise he winced in pain after hitting his thumb with the
hammer.
10. The feral cat would not let us pet him, unlike our friendly cat.
References:
https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-context-clues.html