Word Meaning and Context Clues

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Word Meaning and Context Clues

• Chapter 2

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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
youll be able to comprehend written information.
In this section, you will practice learning word
meaning through context clues. Lets
Practice!
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Now, lets choose the best response to the
following sentences

• Green algae becomes dormant until rains revive
  them.
• In this sentence, dormant means
• Larger
• Dead
• Smaller
• Inactive

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More Practice

• Aerobic conditioning is low impact exercise that
  requires oxygen and is sustained for long periods
  of time.
• In this sentence, aerobic means
• Hair
• Skin
• Light
• Diabetic

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More Practice. . .

• Many people believe that extraterrestrial
  creatures exist on other planets.
• In this sentence, extraterrestrial means
• beyond the earth
• Tall
• Scary
• Friendly

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Context Clues

• Using context clues is the most common strategy
  for unlocking the meaning of words you dont
  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.

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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.

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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.

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• 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.

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3 Main Types of Context Clues

• Context Clues Signal Words
• Comparison 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