Types of Context Clues and Examples

1. CONTEXT
CLUES
Presentation

2. Context clues are hints and extra information in a sentence
or passage that help you understand the meaning of an
unknown word. Context clues essentially let you learn new
words without outside assistance, like from a teacher or
dictionary.
Context clues are quite useful in reading comprehension
because they help you define tricky words in English right
then and there, without having to consult a dictionary or
other source. This can speed up the reading process so you
don’t have to pause all the time.
INTRODUCTION

3. 8 TYPES OF CONTEXT CLUES
1. in-text definitions
2. examples
3. synonyms
4. antonyms or contrast
5. root words and affixes
6. mood or tone
7. cause and effect
8. inferences

4. IN-TEXT DEFINITIONS
The easiest and most helpful type of context clue
is when a definition is provided directly in the text.
A lot of times, an appositive or adjective clause will
come after an unknown word to explain what it is.

5. 1.Abigail knew that to get a catfish, she would
have to try bottom fishing, a technique of
dropping the lure to the water floor to catch
the fish that dwell there.
2.The mechanic needs to replace the entire
exhaust manifold, which is a series of pipes
that combines exhaust from different places
into one pipe.
EXAMPLE:

6. THROUGH EXAMPLES
Sometimes, you can guess the definition
of a word by seeing some of its
examples. You may be familiar with
some of the specific examples without
knowing what category those things
belong to.

7. Arthropods like millipedes, dragonflies, and
scorpions grew to enormous sizes during the
Carboniferous period, about 350 million years ago.
EXAMPLE:
Some of my favorite cooking
ingredients—soybeans, chickpeas, and lentils—are
legumes.

8. SYNONYMS
You can easily understand a new word if you
can tell it has the same meaning as another
word
you already know. Sometimes difficult words
are
used near a context clue synonym, if you
can find the synonym, you can guess the
meaning of the unknown word.

9. EXAMPLES:
1.We’ll use the food court as our
rendezvous, unless you can suggest a
better meeting place.
2. The coach doesn’t allow taunting, so don’t let
her hear you making fun of the other team.

10. ANTONYMS OR CONTRAST
Antonyms, words with opposite meanings, can
be context clues like synonyms. Look for
certain cue words like but, however, although,
or other phrases that suggest a contradiction
or contrast. Keep in mind that you have to
reverse the antonym’s meaning to reveal the
definition of the unknown word.

11. EXAMPLES:
1. Mika seemed genial at first, but when we started
discussing politics she became hostile and even rude.
2. Even though he was prejudiced as a teenager, his life
experiences as an adult led him to be more accepting and
open-minded.

12. ROOT WORDS AND AFFIXES
• Root words are small parts of words (called
morphemes) that each carry their own
meaning.
• Root words can change their meaning or
word class by combining with different
affixes, the prefixes and suffixes that come
before and after words. If you’re familiar with
the root words and affixes in an unknown
word, you can figure out its meaning.

13. EXAMPLES:
The student chose to specialize in dermatology.
(The root word derma means “related to skin,”
while –ology and –tology are suffixes for scientific disciplines.
Therefore, dermatology must be the scientific study of skin.)
To me the movie was indescribable . . . because I fell asleep
halfway through.
(The prefix in- often negates the meaning of the root word that
follows, so indescribable must mean “not describable” or “can’t be
described.”)

14. If you’re struggling to find the meaning of a
word with context clues, you can use the mood or tone of the
passage to help. We’ve discussed tone versus mood before, but to
recap, tone refers to details like word choice or punctuation and how
they affect the attitude of a piece of writing, whereas mood refers to
broader writing choices like themes or topics and how they affect the
atmosphere of the text as a whole.
While mood or tone may not reveal the precise definition of an
unknown word, they can still hint at what kind of word it is. This is
better than nothing when there are no other context clues present.
MOOD OR TONE

15. EXAMPLE:
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and
ominous bird of yore Meant in croaking
“Nevermore.” —“The Raven,” Edgar Allen Poe
(If you don’t know what grim, ungainly, ghastly,
gaunt, or ominous mean, you can still guess that
their definitions are gloomy and dismal from the
mood and tone of the poem.)
He is jubilant as a flag unfurled— Oh, a girl, she’d
not forget him. My own dear love, he is all my
world,— And I wish I’d never met him. —“Love
Song,” Dorothy Parker
(You may not know what jubilant means, but you
can tell it’s positive and complimentary from the
rest of the poem’s tone.)

16. CAUSE AND EFFECT
In English, words like because, so, therefore,
and thus show a cause-and-effect relationship.
If you understand the words explaining either
the cause or the effect, you can guess the
meanings of the other words as long as you
understand how the relationship works.

17. EXAMPLES:
1.She wanted to dress her best for the
prom, so she asked to borrow her
mother’s finest adornments.
2.Because of the kalopsia from his
puppy love, he couldn’t see any of the
warnings or red flags.

18. Last, you can put various types of context clues
together to infer the meaning of a new word.
Simply look at the rest of the sentence or passage
and review the words you do understand; does their
meaning help you with the unknown word or words?
INFERENCE

19. 1.The soldiers are tired, unmotivated, and falling into
despair; we desperately need to raise morale.
2. Everything I did or said, he complimented. It was cute at
first, but by the end of the night it got annoying. I’m never
dating a sycophant again.
EXAMPLES:

20. THANK YOU!