What are context clues?

Q: What are five popular types of context clues?

Five commonly used types of context clues are: Synonym/repeat context clues. The unknown word repeats an idea expressed in other words with familiar meanings. Antonym/contrast context clues. Words or phrases are used that have the opposite meaning to an unfamiliar word. Explanation/definition context clue. An explanation of unknown words is given in surrounding sentences. Example context clues. Specific examples of the unknown word are given in the rest of the sentence. Inference/general context clues. Clues to the meaning of a word are given in the surrounding sentences.

Improve your reading ability with context clues

Author
Carla Greenwood

Published
January 19, 2024

What are context clues?

Improve your reading ability with context clues

Author
Carla Greenwood

Published
Jan 19, 2024

What are context clues?

Improve your reading ability with context clues

Author
Carla Greenwood

Published
Jan 19, 2024

Key takeaways

There are many types of context clues – The most common types of context clues include synonyms, antonyms, examples and inference clues.
Practice makes perfect – Context clues can be confusing at first, especially for children. But, the more you read, the better you will become at deciphering their meaning.
Context clues improve reading ability – Learning context clues can teach you how to decipher new words and learn to pick up on small details when reading.

Table of contents

Have you ever been reading a book and come across an unfamiliar word? What do you do? Do you pause to look up the word in a dictionary, or do you just give up and read something else?

Neither option is ideal. Fortunately, there is a better way—using context clues.

Chances are, you use context clues all the time, but you might not have heard of them. Learning about context clues is a great way to improve reading ability and expand your vocabulary, no matter what your experience level.

In this article, we explore what context clues are and give you all the tools you need to identify them.

What are context clues?

Faced with a sea of unfamiliar words, students are taught a variety of techniques to decode their meaning. One of these is context clues.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, “Context” is defined as the circumstances that form the setting for an idea, statement, or event. Basically, context is used to clarify the meaning of something. Therefore, Context clues are snippets of information that serve as hints to help a reader understand the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

Learning the meaning of a new word with context clues is one of the best ways to expand your vocabulary because it’s not always possible to look through a dictionary!

There are many different types of context clues. However, five main types are commonly used:

Synonym — Also called repeat context clues, synonyms are words with a similar meaning to the unfamiliar word. Synonyms are usually placed shortly after the unknown word to add clarification

For example:

The mountain pass was a tortuous road, twisting and winding like a snake. (“Tortuous” means full of twists and turns).
The landscape was desolate, devoid of any plant or animal life.

(“Desolate” means empty or barren).

Antonym — Antonyms, or contrast context clues, are words with the opposite meaning to the unfamiliar word. Writers often use antonyms to avoid repetition of an idea in a sentence by providing different ways to express the same message. Like synonyms, they are usually added shortly after the unknown word.

For example:

Lexi was so flamboyant, I’ve never seen her wear a dull color.

(“Flamboyant” means confident, stylish and unique because these are the opposite of “dull”).

Emily was always quiet, unlike her garrulous boyfriend.

(“Garrulous” means excessively talkative) .

Explanation — Also called a definition context clue, an explanation of the unknown word is given in the same sentence or the sentence immediately following it.

For example:

A philanthropist, someone who seeks to promote the welfare of others, donated a large sum of money to a local hospital.

(The phrase “seeks to promote the welfare of others” is the definition of a philanthropist).

On Saturday, the family visited the arboretum, a garden dedicated to the display of trees.

(An “arboretum” is defined as a garden devoted to trees).

Specific example — Specific examples, also called example context clues, give the reader one or more examples of the unknown term.

For example:

The children saw several crustaceans at the aquarium, including crabs, lobsters, and shrimp.

(Crabs, lobsters, and shrimp are all examples of crustaceans. These are defined as animals that have hard shells and several pairs of legs. They usually live in the water.)

There are many different genres of music, such as jazz, rock, and pop.

(Jazz, rock, and pop are all examples of music genres).

Inference — Sometimes, an unusual word is not immediately clarified in the same sentence. So, readers have to look at the sentence before or after to work out the meaning of unknown words. These are called inference or general context clues.

For example:

The haberdashery is Cameron’s favourite place. He loves shopping for new suits and the staff is always really helpful.

(A “haberdashery” is a men’s clothing and accessories shop. This meaning is implied by the phrase “shopping for new suits”).

“I’m done with blind dates!” Tara raged. “What a boring evening! The conversation was so vapid.”

(“Vapid” means ‘uninteresting’ which is inferred in the sentences that come before the unknown word).

You can also use stem words, suffixes and prefixes as context clues.

Suffix — A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning in a sentence. If you know the meaning of the base word, you can infer the meaning of a word with a suffix.

For example:

Encouragement
Musical
Security

Prefix — A prefix is a group of letters added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning.

For example:

Export meant to send something out of the country. Whereas, import means to bring something into a country.

Stem word — A stem word, or root word, is the basic part of a word. For example, in the word freedom, “free” is the stem word and “dom” is the suffix. Stem words are usually derived from Greek or Latin origin. This doesn’t mean you have to study these languages to be able to decipher the meaning of a stem word, but there are some common ones that you might recognise. This will help you to work out the meaning of a longer, unfamiliar word.

For example:

“Ambi” is a Latin word meaning ‘all sides’. So, armed with this knowledge, you can determine that the word ambidextrous has something to do with “both” or “all”. The word “ambidextrous” means to be able to use both the left and right hands equally well.

Sometimes a word can include a prefix, a stem word, and a suffix. So, you can use all three to determine the meaning of a word.

For example:

Undependable — You will be able to determine the meaning of the stem word “depend”. The prefix “un” means “not” and the suffix “able” means “able to do something”. So, the word “dependable” means ‘not able to depend on’.

Why do some students struggle with context clues?

Learning to read is daunting for many students. Especially in the early stages, it can be difficult for children to connect parts of a sentence correctly. This is often because they don’t yet understand the role that punctuation plays.

For example:

A beautiful spaniel, Skip, was my favourite dog at the shelter.

The sentence above uses something called an appositive phrase. “Skip” is the name of the dog, but this concept can be confusing if you miss the meaning of the commas. Many young children will simply read the sentence as a whole, without breaking it up. This may prevent them from understanding that “Skip” is the name of the dog.

When it comes to learning to read, it’s best to start slow and build up to more complicated concepts once children have a grasp of the basics. Having to stop regularly to look up a new word can cause frustration and slow down reading progress.

Don’t forget that many learning difficulties can also hinder progress, such as ADHD, Dyslexia, and autism. Every student learns differently.

How can I improve my ability to use context clues?

Practice makes perfect when it comes to using context clues. The good news is that there are plenty of things you can do to improve understanding and use of context clues. However, bear in mind that definitions derived from context clues are just inferred rather than a strict dictionary definition. The main goal is to understand a word well enough to get the overall intent of the sentence.

Improve your vocabulary. The more words you know, the more likely you are to be able to identify context clues. In fact, context clues are often used in children’s books to help children expand their vocabulary.
Study and know your punctuation. Punctuation is a key aspect in the use of context clues. They are often separated from the unknown word by a comma or even a full stop. Knowing your punctuation will allow children to read a sentence in such a way that they’ll be able to pick up on context clues more quickly.
Read more. Reading an assortment of different texts allows you to pick up on more implicit and explicit meanings. Writing can vary from one author to the next, so variety is the key to success.
Read the sentence before and the sentence after. Reading and analysing the sentences that surround an unfamiliar word will help you put it into context. Use what you know about the meaning of the text to help you predict the meaning of the unfamiliar word. Then, you can reread the whole text and determine whether it makes sense using your prediction.
Get in the habit of annotating your text. Underlining, highlighting, or bolding parts of the text that surround a familiar word will help you to work out which pieces of information are most relevant. Regularly doing this will also train your brain to automatically pay attention to small details as you read.

Context clues, debunked

Now it’s time to practice at deciphering context clues!

Below are five different sentences. Discover the meaning of the unfamiliar words by working out the context of each sentence:

The annual bazaar is scheduled for the last day of school. It’s always a fun festival!
In contrast to the benevolent king, the dictator was cruel.
There are many different types of arthropods, including spiders, crabs and cockroaches.
Jake’s answer was erroneous, or incorrect.
Soma is a miser. She’s always been a cheapskate!

Answers

The annual bazaar is scheduled for the last day of school. It’s always a fun festival that raises lots of money! (“fun festival that raises lots of money” implies that a bazaar is some sort of fundraising event.)
In contrast to the benevolent king, the dictator was cruel. (“In contrast” means the opposite. So, if the dictator is cruel, benevolent must mean kind.)
There are many different types of arthropods, including beetles, crabs and cockroaches. (Beetles, crabs, and cockroaches are all small creatures with a hard external shell and segmented bodies, suggesting that an arthropod is a group of animals that share these characteristics.)
Jake’s answer was erroneous, or incorrect. (“Incorrect” is a direct definition of erroneous.)
Soma is a miser. She’s always been a cheapskate! (“Cheapskate” infers that a miser is someone that spends as little money as possible.)

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FAQs about context clues

What are five popular types of context clues?

Five commonly used types of context clues are:

Synonym/repeat context clues. The unknown word repeats an idea expressed in other words with familiar meanings.
Antonym/contrast context clues. Words or phrases are used that have the opposite meaning to an unfamiliar word.
Explanation/definition context clue. An explanation of unknown words is given in surrounding sentences.
Example context clues. Specific examples of the unknown word are given in the rest of the sentence.
Inference/general context clues. Clues to the meaning of a word are given in the surrounding sentences.

How can you discover the meaning of a context clue?

Context clues contain all the words and phrases you need to work out the meaning of an unfamiliar word. However, it may take a bit of practice before you are fully able to identify the different types of context clues.

You first need to consider the immediate context of a sentence or phrase. If this doesn’t give you the answer, you may need to look at the wider context of the surrounding sentences. Remember, practice makes perfect!

What is “context”?

“Context” is defined as the circumstances that form the setting of a statement, event, or idea, so it can be fully understood. Basically, it provides resources and information to help you interpret the meaning of something.

Will understanding context clues help with reading comprehension?

Learning about context clues is a great way to improve reading comprehension. Students are often taught about context clues to figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word. This practice can help them learn to read quickly and decipher complicated passages of information.