Context Clues

If you have trouble understanding a word in a passage or sentence of a story, you may want to read previous words or the end of the sentence to determine what the word means. What is this strategy known as?

• text messaging
• content origins
• context clues
• scanning

Tags

CCSS.L.3.4A

CCSS.RF.3.4C

Mara was feeling apprehensive about the camping trip. She had never slept in a tent before. What if there were bears or mountain lions?

What does the word "apprehensive" mean?

• worried

• angry

• excited

• in pain

The con man bamboozled the customers by making false promises.

What does the word bamboozled mean?

• surprised

• tricked

• charmed

• angered

Luis pondered the idea, remaining deep in thought for half a minute or so.

What does the word pondered mean?

• rejected

• laughed at

• agreed with

• thought about

Jaki is a wonderful piano player, but Emily is more VERSATILE; she sings, acts, paints and writes poetry, and also plays the piano.

What does the word VERSATILE mean?

• has many skills

• boring

• not skilled

• exciting

We thought that Mrs. Kerner would be very DISTRAUGHT when Joe told her he dropped her vase; however, she took the news very calmly.

What does the word DISTRAUGHT mean?

.

• calm

• upset

• happy

• fearful

Ms. Hallett did not have lunch or breakfast, so she was FAMISHED by dinnertime.

What does the word FAMISHED mean?

• tired

• full

• dizzy

• hungry

I was so parched, I drank an entire glass of water in one gulp.

What does the word parched mean?

• sleepy

• hungry

• thirsty

• exhausted

Campbell finished her second piece of cake. She reached for another piece, but her mother stopped her. She said that Campbell had eaten sufficient pieces of cake for one day.

What does the word sufficient mean?

• delicious

• enough

• large

• small

The reporter insisted that the letter he used was authentic. He said that he had shown it to many experts before he used it in his story.

What does the word authentic mean?

• genuine, or real

• carefully written

• full of tasty worms

• very old