Working out meaning from context · Grade 4
When you meet a word you don't know, the words around it (its context) often tell you what it means. Read the whole sentence, look for a clue, and try a meaning in place of the word: if the sentence still makes sense, you have probably got it. After the long walk, Leo was so exhausted that he fell asleep.: exhausted must mean very tired.
Key facts
- Explanation clue: the sentence explains the word, often after a colon or a dash: The desert is arid: it hardly ever rains there.
- Opposite clue: not, unlike, instead of, although point to an opposite: Instead of being sad, she was elated.
- Same-meaning clue: a nearby word means the same: The cars collided, crashing into each other.
- Example clue: examples show the kind of thing: tropical fruits such as mangoes and papayas.
- General sense: what would make sense here? Mia was famished, so she ate three sandwiches. Then check: replace the word with your meaning and reread.