Context Clues
The clues to discovering unknown
words
What are context clues?
•Context clues are words or phrases
used by the author to explain an
unfamiliar word.
•Context clues are generally found in
the same sentence, or preceding
sentences.
USE CONTEXT CLUES TO FIND OUT
WHAT PRECEDING MEANS.
What does a context clue look like?
1. Author gives examples
Look for words like: such as, including,
consists of.
The river was full of noxious materials such as
cleaning agents from factories and pesticides from the
nearby farms.
Also look for punctuation like : - ()
 The director figures the Mars colony program —
which he wants to be a collaboration between
government and private enterprise — would end up
costing about $36 billion.
What does a context clue look like?
2.Synonyms and Definitions
Look directly after the word.
Usually a comma and the word, “or” signals
a synonym.
The trek, or journey, became more challenging as we
approached the mountain.
Sometimes the word “called” is used.
The worm ate the middle layer of the peach, which is
called the mesocarp.
What does a context clue look like?
3.Familiar Prefixes, Suffixes, & Roots
Words are often formed by placing affixes –
prefixes & suffixes – and root words together.
Benediction = bene (well) + diction (speech); meaning
“a speech of well being”
Geothermal = geo (earth) + thermal (heat); meaning
“heat of the earth”
How do I use context clues?
The little norpul crawled
across the limb with a nut.
1.Identify the unfamiliar word.
2.Identify words and phrases that are
clues to the possible meaning of the
word.
The little norpul crawled
across the limb with a nut.
3. Ask yourself the following:




Does it look like any other words I know?
Does it sound familiar?
What part of speech is it?
Is it a positive or negative word?
4. Guess what the unfamiliar word
means and try the definition in the
sentence.
Let’s Practice…
•The birds aren't considered nocturnal animals,
as they feed, socialize, and do most of their
singing during daylight hours.
•Thundersnow—when thunder and lighting occur
during a snowstorm—most often appears in late
winter or early spring, experts say
• The plutonium sample was sent to Hansford
for reprocessing—or removing bomb-grade
plutonium from nuclear waste products.