Word Meaning and Context Clues

Chapter 2

Word Meaning

Anything you read requires that you understand the meaning of words in sentences. Otherwise, written material would not make sense to you. Ultimately, the more words you know, the better you’ll be able to comprehend written information. In this section, you will practice learning word meaning through context clues.

Let’s Practice!

•

Now, lets choose the best response to the following sentences:

Green algae becomes dormant until rains revive them. 1. In this sentence,

dormant

means A. Larger B. Dead C. Smaller D. Inactive

More Practice

• Aerobic conditioning is low impact exercise that requires oxygen and is sustained for long periods of time. 1.In this sentence,

aerobic

means: A. Hair B. Skin C. Light D. Diabetic

More Practice. . .

Many people believe that extraterrestrial creatures exist on other planets. 1.In this sentence,

extraterrestrial

means A. beyond the earth B. Tall C. Scary D. Friendly

Context Clues

• Using

context clues

is the most common strategy for unlocking the meaning of words you don’t know. For example, if you chose D for question 1, you made use of the clause, “until rains revive them.” This group of words suggests that dormant is not a “dead” state, but an

inactive

one since the rains bring the algae back from a state of rest. In addition, the signal word, “until” tells us that

dormant

is the opposite of

revive

. Consequently, you use a

contrast clue

to determine meaning .

Question 2

• In question 2, the answer should be C, light. In this example, you used a definition clue. The meaning of aerobic is explained in the phrase following ‘is,’ which becomes the signal word leading us into the definition. Low impact suggests light exercise.

Question 3

• For question 3, the answer would be A, beyond the earth. The phrase, “exists on other planets” suggests that extraterrestrial creatures live on other planets beyond the earth.

• Therefore, context clues help us determine the meaning of words from the way they are used in a sentence. By analyzing the phrases and signal words that come before or after the underlined word, you can often figure out its meaning.

3 Main Types of Context Clues:

Context Clues Comparison Signal Words also, likewise, resembling, too, both Contrast but, however, until, yet, while Definition or Restatement is, or, that is, in other words, which Example for example, for instance, such as, dash or colon