Written by Chris Drew (PhD)
Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]
| May 30, 2024
Context clues are key pieces of information that help a reader understand the meaning of a word without requiring them to look it up in a dictionary (Baumann, Edwards, Boland, Olejnik, & Kame’enui, 2003).
A context clue is typically found within the sentence that you are reading. If a sentence contains an unfamiliar word, there’s a chance the reader will be able to infer the meaning of the word by looking at the surrounding text – or, the surrounding context.
Context Clue Example
Take this sentence: “Teachers use pedagogy (for example, research-backed teaching strategies like differentiation) to help their students learn.” Here, even if you don’t know the word “pedagogy” you can use the context clues in brackets to infer that pedagogy probably means ‘teaching methods’ because some examples and synonyms were provided to help you to understand the concept.
Contents showA context clue can be defined as a clue provided within a text that can help readers to infer meaning, even if they don’t understand specific words within the paragraph.
They’re essential in the teaching of reading skills, where teachers specifically model the use of context clues to assist readers in reading for meaning and comprehension.
Context clues are heavily used in the whole language learning approach to teaching reading. While the whole langauge approach is widely seen as inferior to the phonics approach (because children fundamentally need to learn words, their foundations, and how they’re formed), context clues do remain one useful tool for meaning-making that is used by both children and adults when reading texts.
There are several types of context clues:
Example 1
“Her entrepreneurial spirit, a tendency to start and run businesses, was evident from her lemonade stand.”
In this sentence, the phrase “a tendency to start and run businesses” is defining the term “entrepreneurial spirit”.
Example 2
“The town’s cathedral, a large, important church, was built in the 14th century.”
Here, “a large, important church” is directly explaining what a “cathedral” is.
Example 3
“A philanthropist, someone who seeks to promote the welfare of others, donated a large sum of money to the hospital.”
The phrase “someone who seeks to promote the welfare of others” is defining the term “philanthropist”.
Example 4
“The flora of the region, meaning the plant life, is incredibly diverse.”
Here, “meaning the plant life” is providing the definition of “flora”.
Example 5
“The letter was terse, brief and to the point, and left no room for argument.”
The phrase “brief and to the point” is providing a definition for “terse”.
Example 6
“Her idiosyncrasies, those unique habits and quirks that everyone has, made her a memorable character.”
In this sentence, “those unique habits and quirks that everyone has” is defining the term “idiosyncrasies”.
Example 1
“The student’s answer was erroneous, or incorrect.”
The word “incorrect” is a synonym for “erroneous”, providing a clue to its meaning.
Example 2
“The landscape was desolate, barren of any plant or animal life.”
Here, “barren” is a synonym for “desolate”.
Example 3
“Her decision was prudent, or wise, considering the circumstances.”
“Wise” is a synonym for “prudent”.
Example 4
“The noise was incessant, unending throughout the night.”
“Unending” is a synonym for “incessant”.
Example 5
“His answer was ambiguous, or unclear, leading to confusion.”
“Unclear” is a synonym for “ambiguous”.
Example 6
“The forest was verdant, or green with lush vegetation.”
The word “green with lush vegetation” is a synonym for “verdant”, providing a clue to its meaning.
Example 1
“Unlike her garrulous brother, Jane was always quiet.”
“Quiet” is an antonym for “garrulous”, so you can infer that “garrulous” means talkative or wordy.
Example 2
“Despite the arid desert, the oasis was lush and green.”
“Lush and green” contrasts with “arid”, so you can infer that “arid” means dry.
Example 3
“Unlike the complex puzzle, the solution was simple.”
“Simple” is an antonym for “complex”, helping you understand that “complex” means something not simple, or complicated.
Example 4
“In contrast to the benevolent king, the dictator was cruel and oppressive.”
“Cruel and oppressive” is the opposite of “benevolent”, indicating that “benevolent” means kind or generous.
Example 5
“While the sun is scorching in the desert, the polar regions are frigid.”
“Frigid” is the opposite of “scorching”, so “frigid” means extremely cold.
Example 6
“Due to her philanthropy, she was well-known for her generous donations to charity.”
The mention of generous donations to charity lets you infer that “philanthropy” means the desire to promote the welfare of others, typically through the donation of money.
Example 1
“Given the number of webs, it was clear the barn was infested with arachnids.”
The presence of many webs lets you infer that “arachnids” refers to spiders or similar creatures.
Example 2
“The debutante graced the ballroom with her elegance, leaving the crowd in awe.”
From the crowd’s awe and the context of a ballroom, you can infer that a “debutante” is a young woman making a formal debut in society.
Example 3
“He mused about the problem, leading his friends to realize he was deep in thought.”
The fact that he’s deep in thought lets you infer that “mused” means to contemplate or ponder.
Example 4
“John, an infamous gambler, lost a fortune at the poker table.”
The loss of a fortune at poker allows you to infer that “infamous” means well-known for some bad quality or deed.
Example 5
“The audience was enthralled by the magician’s prestidigitation.”
Given that a magician is performing, you can infer “prestidigitation” involves sleight of hand or magic tricks.
Example 6
“Due to her philanthropy, she was well-known for her generous donations to charity.”
The mention of generous donations to charity lets you infer that “philanthropy” means the desire to promote the welfare of others, typically through the donation of money.
Example 1
“There are many different arthropods, such as spiders, crabs, and beetles.”
The examples of spiders, crabs, and beetles let you infer that “arthropods” are a type of animal with jointed limbs.
Example 2
“She excelled in the arts, painting, drawing, and sculpting with great skill.”
Painting, drawing, and sculpting are given as examples of “the arts”, helping you understand what the term encompasses.
Example 3
“Her collection of antiquities included artifacts like pottery, coins, and jewelry from ancient civilizations.”
Pottery, coins, and jewelry from ancient civilizations are examples of “antiquities”, providing a clue to the term’s meaning.
Example 4
“Many forms of precipitation, such as rain, snow, and hail, contribute to the water cycle.”
Rain, snow, and hail are examples of “precipitation”, giving a clue to what the term means.
Example 5
“He enjoyed many different genres of music, including rock, jazz, and classical.”
Rock, jazz, and classical are examples of “genres”, helping you understand the term refers to categories or types.
Example 6
“There were several types of gymnosperms in the park, such as pines, firs, and spruces.”
Pines, firs, and spruces are examples of “gymnosperms”, providing a clue to the term’s meaning.
While context clues are useful for understanding unfamiliar words, they do have some important limitations, which means teachers still need to teach phonics-based learning.
For example, context clues are not always present. In these cases, readers need to be able to find other ways to obtain meaning (such as using a good old dictionary!)
Furthermore, there tends to be ambiguity within context clues, especially when the authors’ writing is vague. This may lead to multiple possible meanings that could be inferred from surrounding context, causing confusion.
Phonics advocates are also quick to point out key limitations of over-reliance on context clues, such as the fact that this approach relies on guesswork, whereas a phonics approach relies on a more systematic approach to reading texts (Adams, 1990; National Reading Panel, 2000).
Furthermore, phonics advocates may argue that over-reliance on context clues may lead to the development of incorrect reading habits, where readers develop a habit of skipping over difficult words instead of trying to read and understand them.
This approach could hinder vocabulary development (Stanovich, 1986).
Context clues are used every day when reading texts – especially when we read texts with unfamiliar lexicon. By teaching students how to use context clues, we can help them to read for meaning and understanding; but this isn’t without is limitations, listed above.
Interestingly, I’ve been both a kindergarten professor and postdoctoral disserration supervisor, and on both ends of the educational spectrum, I’m constantly helping my students learn through context clues – you’re never too smart for this meaning-making method!
Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Mass: MIT press.
Baumann, J. F., Edwards, E. C., Boland, E. M., Olejnik, S., & Kame’enui, E. J. (2003). Vocabulary tricks: Effects of instruction in morphology and context on fifth-grade students’ ability to derive and infer word meanings. American Educational Research Journal, 40(2), 447-494. doi: https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312040002447
Baumann, J. F., Edwards, E. C., Boland, E. M., Olejnik, S., & Kame’enui, E. J. (2003). Vocabulary tricks: Effects of instruction in morphology and context on fifth-grade students’ ability to derive and infer word meanings. American Educational Research Journal, 40(2), 447-494.
Carnine, D., Kameenui, E. J., & Coyle, G. (1984). Utilization of contextual information in determining the meaning of unfamiliar words. Reading Research Quarterly, 19, 188–204. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/747362
Ehri, L. C. (2005). Development of sight word reading: Phases and findings. In M. Snowling & C. Hulme (Eds.), The science of reading: A handbook (pp. 135–154). Blackwell.
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Leung, C. S. (1992). Effects of word-related variables on vocabulary growth through repeated read-aloud events. In C. K. Kinzer & D. J. Leu (Eds.), Literacy research, theory, and practice: Views from many perspectives (41st Yearbook of the National Reading Conference, pp. 491–498). Chicago, IL: National Reading Conference.
Nagy, W. E., Herman, P. A., & Anderson, R. C. (1985). Learning words from context. Reading Research Quarterly, 20(2), 233-253. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/747758
National Reading Panel (US), & National Institute of Child Health, & Human Development (US). (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction: Reports of the subgroups. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.
