This document provides an overview of context clues and their importance in understanding unfamiliar words. It defines context clues as hints within a text that help readers understand new vocabulary. The document then lists and describes different types of context clues, including definition, synonym, antonym, example, and inference clues. Examples are given for each type. Later sections provide exercises and resources for applying context clues to decode word meanings. The overall purpose is to familiarize learners with context clues and how to use them when reading.

1. CONTEXT CLUES
English 8 – Lesson 1

2. Lesson Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you are able to:
1. Familiarize with different types of context clues;
2. Apply context clues in decoding the meaning of the text
3. State the importance of context clues in understanding
what has been read.

3. Definition of
Context Clues
01 02
Resources
04
Practice
03
Table of contents
Examples of
Context Clues

4. Prepare your materials
Notebooks, pens, etc.
Do your personal
necessities
Do your bathroom needs
so that you can
concentrate on your lesson
Listen and Concentrate
Avoid being distracted
with your gadgets
Make a goal
You have to finish your
lesson on or before the
given deadline to avoid
cramming
Before and During the lesson:

5. What is
CONTEXT CLUES?
01

6. Exercise 1
Can you guess the meaning of the underlined
words?
1. He was a lively conversationalist, but she was reserved
and taciturn.
2. The lugubrious wails of the gypsies matched the dreary
whistling of the wind in the all but-deserted cemetery
3. His emaciation, that is, his skeleton-like appearance,
was frightening to see

7. CONTEXT CLUES are hints found within a
sentence, paragraph, or passage that a reader
can use to understand the meanings of new or
unfamiliar words (Miami Dade College, n.d.).
These clues can be words, phrases, or even
scenarios that aid the readers in understanding
what those unfamiliar utterances mean.

8. 1. He was a lively conversationalist, but she was
reserved and taciturn.
2. The lugubrious wails of the gypsies matched
the dreary whistling of the wind in the all but
deserted cemetery.
3. His emaciation, that is, his skeleton-like
appearance, was frightening to see

9. Examples of
CONTEXT CLUES
02

10. DEFINITION/DESCRIPTION CLUE
In definition or description clue, the author
provides a direct (explicit) definition of an
unknown word in the sentence.
Example:
His emaciation, that is, his skeleton-like
appearance, was frightening to see.
“Emaciation” means “skeleton-like/bony/skinny”

11. SYNONYM CLUE
In synonym clue, the author uses a word having
the same or nearly the same meaning as another
word or other words in a sentence.
Example:
My best friend squandered all his money; his
drinking and gambling wasted all his earnings.
“Squandered” is the synonym of “wasted.”

12. ANTONYM CLUE
In antonym clue, the author uses another word or
phrase that means the opposite of an unfamiliar
word.
Example:
He was a lively conversationalist, but she was
reserved and taciturn.
“Taciturn” means the opposite of a “lively conversationalist.”

13. EXAMPLES as CLUES
In example as clues, a word is cleared up by
giving an example. Words like including, such as,
and for example, point out example clues.
Example:
Celestial bodies, including the sun, moon, and stars, have
fascinated man through the centuries.
“celestial bodies” refer to objects found in the sky.

14. INFERENCE as CLUES
In making an inference, the meaning of an
unfamiliar word can be inferred (guessed) from
the description of a situation.
Example:
The monkey’s vociferous chatter made me wish I
had earplugs.
“made me wish I had earplugs” might mean that the listener finds the monkey’s chatter
too forceful or powerful. (Vociferous = forceful/powerful)

15. REMEMBER THE POINTS:
Context Clues help you understand the meaning
of unfamiliar words through the following:
I D E A S
INFERENCE EXAMPLE SYNONYMS
DEFINITION ANTONYMS

16. Application of
CONTEXT CLUES
03

17. Exercise 2
Can you guess the meaning of the underlined
words?

18. Quiz

19. Resources
04

20. RESOURCES
https://www.mdc.edu/kendall/collegeprep/docu
ments2/context%20cluesrev8192.pdf
https://www.wasatch.edu/cms/lib/UT01000315/C
entricity/Domain/395/Context%20Clues%20-
%20Types%20Chart.pdf

21. AWESOME
WORDS

22. Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and
the smallest one in the Solar System—it’s
only a bit larger than the Moon
Assignment