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What are context clues?How can I figure out what unknown words
mean?
Notes:
Context Clues: Hints an author gives in a
text to help you define difficult or
unusual words
Context clues will give you a good guess about what the word means.
Use the dictionary to look up how to spell, not the meaning of words.
Types of Guesses
Educated guess: a guess based on some thought or logic.
Blind guess: a guess made randomly or by closing eyes and picking an answer.
Context clues allow you to make educated guesses which are MUCH more likely to be correct.
Why use context clues?
The best way to excel on the TCAP is to have a large vocabulary.
The more words you know, the easier it is to understand the passages and the questions.
Your independent reading is a huge source of new vocabulary to be learned.
Tip 1:Reread around the
unknown word looking for words
with similar meanings
Example: “His father did not intend to be cruel, but he was himself a hard-
working man, an early riser, and a swift workman, and it seemed a natural and necessary thing to have his sons work. He himself had been bound out at nine years of age, and he had never known a
week’s release from toil.”
Underline words similar in meaning to toil
Guess what does toil mean?
What words are similar in meaning to toil?
“His father did not intend to be cruel, but he was himself a hard-working
man, an early riser, and a swift workman, and it seemed a natural and necessary thing to have his sons work. He himself had been bound out at nine years of age, and he had never known a
week’s release from toil.”
Underline words similar in meaning to toil
Guess what does toil means: Hard work
Example: “Moe was obviously vexed; Larry never had seen him looking so
annoyed with Curly”
Underline the word similar to vexed?Guess what vexed means.
Example: “Moe was obviously vexed; Larry never had seen him looking so
annoyed with Curly”
Underline the word similar to vexed?Guess vexed means: upset, frustrated
“Moe was obviously vexed; Larry never had seen him looking so annoyed
with Curly”
Vexed means:A. Bored
B. IrritatedC. Idiotic
D. Entertained
Tip 2:Look for signal
words to tell you the unknown
word’s opposite. Sample signal words: except,
but, unlike, instead.
Example:“Not all commercial websites are untrustworthy. Indeed, many sites
are reputable sources of information on the topics they discuss.”
Circle the signal word.Underline the opposite meaning words.
Guess what does reputable mean?
Example:“Not all commercial websites are untrustworthy. Indeed, many sites
are reputable sources of information on the topics they discuss.”
Circle the signal word.Underline the opposite meaning words.
What does reputable mean? Trustworthy
Example:“What a shock! We had expected him
to be morose, but he showed up at the party and danced until dawn, wearing a constant smile on his
untroubled face.”
Circle the signal words.Underline the words or phrases mean
the opposite of morose?Guess what does morose mean?
What words or phrases mean the opposite of morose?
“What a shock! We had expected him to be morose, but he showed up at the party and danced until dawn, wearing a constant smile on his untroubled face.”
Morose means: sad
Tip 3:Look for hints from the author – a definition in the text or footnotes,
restatement of the idea in a different way.
Example
“The coulter (cutting part of the plough) went into the ground.”
Underline the author’s hint for the meaning of coulter
Example
“The coulter (cutting part of the plough) went into the ground.”
Underline the author’s hint for the meaning of coulter
Tip 4:Don’t be fooled by multiple
meaning wordsSome words have several meanings.
(Craft can mean “a skill requiring use of the hands”, “a small boat”, or “clever
trickiness”
Go back to the passage and read how the word was used. Don’t be fooled by the most common definition of a word.
Example:“Hillary knew that Big Ed meant to court her the moment he offered her
the first drink from his diet root beer.”
Guess which of the following definitions of court is used in the sentence?
Circle your answer.A. Place where trials are heldB.Surface for playing tennisC. To provoke or inciteD.To seek the affections or
love of a person
Example:“Hillary knew that Big Ed meant to court her the moment he offered her
the first drink from his diet root beer.”
Which of the following definitions of court is used in the sentence?A. Place where trials are heldB.Surface for playing tennisC. To provoke or inciteD.To seek the affections or
love of a person
Example:“His heart was sometimes very bitter and
rebellious, because of the relentless drag of his daily toil.”
From the dictionary, Drag meansA. A slow, deliberate motion
B. A motion pulling against somethingC. A burden that creates much hardship
D. A device used to pull something along the ground
These are all definitions of “drag”. Guess which makes sense in the sentence?
Circle the best answer.
Example:“His heart was sometimes very bitter and
rebellious, because of the relentless drag of his daily toil.”
From the dictionary, Drag meansA. A slow, deliberate motion
B. A motion pulling against somethingC. A burden that creates much hardship
D. A device used to pull something along the ground
These are all definitions of “drag”. Which makes sense in the sentence?
Tip 5:Determine the category of
words in a list
You might not know every word in the list, but the words will be part of the
same category.
Example:“Jeb thought that if he could play the
trumpet, then he could play them all: trombone, French horn, flugelhorn,
tuba, bugle and cornet.”
Underline the other words in the category
Guess what is a flugelhorn?A. A type of drum
B. A brass instrumentC. An electronic piano
D. A stringed instrument
Example:“Jeb thought that if he could play the
trumpet, then he could play them all: trombone, French horn, flugelhorn,
tuba, bugle and cornet.”
Underline the other words in the category
Guess what is a flugelhorn?A. A type of drum
B. A brass instrumentC. An electronic piano
D. A stringed instrument
Tip 6:Use cause-and-effect
relationships to understand new words. (One thing happened because of another or
one thing caused another.)
Example:“George dropped a smoking match in
the forest, and the next day there was a conflagration.”
Underline what caused the conflagration
Guess what word you’d use for the effect.
Conflagration meansA. A disastrous fireB. A group of flags
C. A church meetingD. A harsh warning
Example:“George dropped a smoking match in
the forest, and the next day there was a conflagration.”
Underline what caused the conflagration
Guess what word you’d use for the effect. FIRE!
Conflagration meansA. A disastrous fireB. A group of flags
C. A church meetingD. A harsh warning
Example:“The amateur magician grew more and more
chagrined as members of her audience yelled out the supposed secret to every
trick.”
Underline what is the cause of the chagrin.Guess how would you feel if this happened to
you in front of an audience?
Chagrined meansA. EnthusiasticB. FrightenedC. Confident
D. Embarrassed
Example:“The amateur magician grew more and more
chagrined as members of her audience yelled out the supposed secret to every
trick.”
Underline what is the cause of the chagrin.Guess how would you feel if this happened to
you in front of an audience? Upset.
Chagrined meansA. EnthusiasticB. FrightenedC. Confident
D. Embarrassed
Tip 7:Use the meaning of roots, prefixes and suffixes to help you
guess the meaning of a word
Example: Take the word “prehistoric”
Guess what is the root?
Guess what does the prefix mean?
Guess what does prehistoric mean?
Example: Take the word “prehistoric”
Guess what is the root?Prehistoric - history
Guess what does the prefix mean?
Prehistoric - beforeGuess what does prehistoric
mean?Before history
Tip 8:For multiple choice questions, plug in
the answer choices to see which one makes the most
sense in the sentence
Example:“At last it began to grow cold, so cold
that in the early morning he was obliged to put one hand in his pocket
to keep it warm, while holding the plough with the other.”
Obliged means: A. ToldB. ForcedC. Asked
D. Honored
Example:“. . . His father’s imperious voice rang
out, “Come Lincoln, time to hitch up.”
Imperious means:A. Soft
B. HesitantC. Reluctant
D. Commanding
Example:“Melvin believed that someday the
finger holes in bowling balls would be obsolete; people would simply
bowl telepathically, with their minds.”
obsolete means:A. CreativeB. Difficult
C. OutdatedD. Plentiful
Test you knowledge what tip will you use to define the underlined word?
Sammy is in charge of purchasing the salt, pepper, ketchup and other
condiments
Tip: Determine the category
Test you knowledge what tip will you use to define the underlined word?
The voracious dog hadn’t eaten in two days
Tip: Cause and Effect
Test you knowledge what tip will you use to define the underlined word?
Julie used to procrastinate when it was time to practice her trumpet; she always had
trouble getting started.
Tip: Hints from the author
Test you knowledge what tip will you use to define the underlined word?
Susanna went to a dermatologist for medicine to control an itchy rash
Tip: Cause and effect
Test you knowledge what tip will you use to define the underlined word?
Richard suffered from agoraphobia so he had a fear of leaving his home.
Tip: Hints from the author
Test you knowledge what tip will you use to define the underlined word?
Jean’s voice was almost inaudible. I couldn’t hear her if I was more than a
few inches away.
Tip: Look for words with similar meanings
Test you knowledge what tip will you use to define the underlined word?
There is an abundance of theaters in Miami, but very few here in Lakeland.
Tip #1: Look for words with opposite meanings
“Make the cards out of 80 pound card stock.”
Does stock meanA. The raw material from which
something is madeB. The type from which a group of
animals or plants has been madeC. A specified kind of paper
D. The handle of a fishing rodTip: Watch for multiple meanings of
the word
Test you knowledge what tip will you use to define the underlined word?
Michael was looking for a definite answer, and was annoyed by the
politician’s evasive reply.
Tip: Look for words with opposite meanings
“Not understanding the danger of mountain lions in the area, the
witless calf called for his mother.”
Witless means:A. CuriousB. Foolish
C. DangerousD. Young
Tip: plug the choices into the sentence
Test you knowledge what tip will you use to define the underlined word?
The vertebrae of an animal generally are the bones that run down the center
of the back
Tip: hints from the author
“Even after his worst days, though, in a way Charlie Brown triumphs over
adversity.”
Adversity means:A. Hope
B. TroubleC. Success
D. disappointmentTip: plug the choices into the
sentence
The cook ladled out a minute serving of the soup
Does minute meanA. A measure of time equal to one-
sixtieth of an hourB. A very time amount
C. An official recording of the proceedings of a meeting
D. A unit of angle measurement equal to one-sixtieth of a degree
Tip: Watch for multiple meanings of the word
