Context Clues

There are small yellow flowers growing in the field by the school. Please be careful not to trample the flowers as you walk across the field. Watch each step you take so the school can keep these pretty flowers safe.

What does the word trample mean in this paragraph?

• pick up

• jump over

• step on

• throw down

We are always very careful around Mr. Sutton's dog Buster. The neighbors say the dog is vicious. Buster runs to the fence and barks at us, so we are a little scared of him.

Based on the context clues in the paragraph, what is the meaning of vicious?

• sweet

• playful

• fun to be around

• very mean

Amber took a cookie away from her little sister. She tried to conceal the cookie by putting it in her pocket. She did not want her mom to see it.

What is the meaning of the word conceal?

• hide

• take

• eat

• tease

Monica always loses when she plays checkers with her older brother Greg. Today, she hopes to finally defeat him. Monica believes that she can finally win.

The word defeat most likely means

• lose

• play

• beat

• give

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

Grandma loves to buy Shelby attractive dresses with bows and flowers. Shelby likes to wear the lovely dresses Grandma buys.

Attractive most likely means

• old

• scratchy

• pretty

• extra

Our dog Twizzler keeps running away. We keep him confined, but he always finds a way out of the backyard. He likes to dig under the fence.

The word confined most likely means the same as

• shut in

• loose

• well fed

• away

Belinda is very cautious when she crosses the street. She does not want to get hit by a car. She always looks both ways. She walks across when the street is clear.

What is the meaning of cautious in the passage above?

• excited

• tired

• angry

• careful

The Henleys are a very reserved couple. They rarely talk to their neighbors, and they don't like to leave their house. They always keep their curtains closed, and they never have visitors. In fact, some of their neighbors have never met them!

Based on the context clues in the paragraph, what is the meaning of reserved?

• private

• welcoming

• friendly

• happy

Scott could not find his glasses anywhere. He worried that he might have thrown them away when he was cleaning his room. He began to rummage through the garbage hoping that he would find them.

What does the word rummage mean?

• search

• fight

• run

• smell