1. Context Clues and Main Idea

2. Context Clues: Definitional
A writer sometimes uses definitional context clues to help with hard words. When using definitional context clues, the author includes a definition to help the reader understand the meaning of a word.

3. Context Clues: Definitional
Let’s Look at an Example:
The people of the town were warned not to eat the tainted fish. The local newspaper published a bulletin in which readers were clearly told that eating fish that had a disease could be very dangerous. This was especially true for fish caught in Lake Jean.
What does the word tainted mean in this sentence?

4. Context Clues: Definitional
"tainted" is defined as having a disease.
The people of the town were warned not to eat the tainted fish. The local newspaper published a bulletin in which readers were clearly told that eating fish that had a disease could be very dangerous. This was especially true for fish caught in Lake Jean.

5. Context Clues: Synonyms
A writer sometimes uses synonym context clues to help with hard words. A synonym context clue is one or two words that mean almost the same as the one that the author does not expect us to know.

6. Context Clues: Synonyms
Let’s Look at an Example:
The young girl was very She always seemed unsociable, unapproachable, and uninterested.
aloof
What does the word aloof mean in this sentence?

7. Context Clues: Synonyms
All three of these words are synonyms to help us with the original word aloof
The young girl was very aloof. She always seemed
unsociable, unapproachable, and uninterested.

8. Context Clues: Antonyms
A writer is using antonym context clues when they use a word with opposite meaning to give us hints about the word that they don’t think we will know.

9. Context Clues: Antonyms
Let’s Look at an Example:
Dianna appeared to be a very moral and upstanding young lady, but those who knew her knew that she was
iniquitous.
What does the word iniquitous mean in this sentence?

10. Context Clues: Antonyms
The word BUT tells us that the two parts of the sentence represent opposite points of view about Dianna
There is a special word in this sentence that hints at the presence of an antonym.
Dianna appeared to be a very moral and upstanding young lady, those who knew her knew that she was iniquitous.
but

11. Iniquitous must mean evil and immoral
Context Clues: Antonyms
The two opposite points of view are:
That Dianna is moral and upstanding.
That she is iniquitous
Dianna appeared to be a very
young lady, but those who knew her knew that she was
moral and upstanding
iniquitous.
Iniquitous must mean evil and immoral

12. Context Clues: Example
Using examples or illustrations, an author tries to show what a word means. A writer may give just one example or several. Remember that these are examples not synonyms.

13. Context Clues: Example
Let’s Look at an Example:
 The river was full of noxious materials such as cleaning agents from factories and pesticides from the nearby farms.
What does the word noxious mean in this sentence?

14. Context Clues: Example
The words such as signal that an example is being used as a context clue.
There are special words in this sentence that hint at the presence of an example.
The river was full of noxious materials such as cleaning agents from factories and pesticides from the nearby farms.

15. Context Clues: Example
The two examples of noxious are:
cleaning agents
pesticides
The river was full of noxious materials such as cleaning agents from factories and pesticides from the nearby farms.