CONTEXT CLUES

Read the following sentences and (a) define the a)_____________________________________

bolded word based on the context clue and then _______________________________________
(b) identify which of the four types of clues the __________________________
sentence uses. Underline or highlight the context b) _______________________________
clues in 8. Because the conflagration was aided by
each sentence. wind, it was so destructive that every building in
1. The girl who used to be very vociferous the area
doesn't talk much anymore. was completely burned to the ground.
a)_____________________________________ a)_____________________________________
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
__________________________ __________________________
b) _______________________________ b) _______________________________
9. The festival runs from 2 P.M. to 6 P.M., and
2. Pedagogical institutions, including high our volunteers must begin clean-up at that time.
schools, kindergartens, and colleges, require Please
community support to function efficiently. do not beg, plead, cajole, coax, implore,
a)_____________________________________ beseech, or wheedle for more food.
_______________________________________ a)_____________________________________
__________________________ _______________________________________
b) _______________________________ __________________________
3. He was so parsimonious that he refused to b) _______________________________
give his own sons the few pennies they needed EXERCISE I: Circle the letter of the best
to buy meaning for the underlined word as it is used
pencils for school. It truly hurt him to part with in context.
his money. 1. My brother said, “I just freed myself from
a)_____________________________________ a very loquacious history professor. All he
_______________________________________ seemed to want was an audience.”
__________________________ a. pretentious
b) _______________________________ b. grouchy
b) c. talkative
_______________________________________ d. worried
_______________________________________ 2. There is no doubt that the idea of living in
4. His pertinacity, or stubbornness, is the cause such a benign climate was appealing. The
of most of his trouble. islanders seemed to keep their vitality and
a)_____________________________________ live longer than Europeans.
_______________________________________ a. tropical
__________________________ b. not malignant
b) _______________________________ c. kind
5. Rather than be involved in clandestine d. favorable
meetings, they did everything quite openly. 3. It is difficult to imagine a surfeit of talent in
a)_____________________________________ one individual, yet Leonard Bernstein simply
_______________________________________ does not have the time to make complete use
__________________________ of his talent as conductor, performer, writer,
b) _______________________________ and lecturer.
6. Ecclesiastics, such as priests, ministers, and a. excess
pastors, should set models of behavior for their b. variety
congregants. c. superiority
a)_____________________________________ d. lack
_______________________________________ 4. There is a large demand all over the United
__________________________ States for plants indigenous to the desert.
b) _______________________________ Many people in Arizona have made a good
7. The girl was churlish – rude, sullen and business of growing and selling cacti and
absolutely ill-mannered. other local plants.
a. native
b. necessary
c. foreign professor.
d. alien _____________________
5. After the Romans left, a millennium and a
half passed before people again lived in such 2. Their vociferous chatter made me wish I had
comfort. Churchill wrote, “From the year 400 ear plugs.
until the year 1900 no one had central heating _____________________
and very few had hot baths.”
a. a decade 3. He was so impudent to his mother that I
b. many years would have punished him if he talked to me that
c. 1000 years way.
d. a century _____________________

6. Many years before, Caesar’s men had tried 4. The Russians are skillful at sending cryptic
and failed to invade Britain. No doubt this messages, open to many interpretations.
contributed to the xenophobia of the Romans. Our State Department spends days puzzling
They were cautious about strangers who over their meanings.
entered their country. _____________________
a. honesty
b. fear of foreigners 5. The Great Flood of Noah’s day was caused
c. kindliness by incessant rain that fell for 40 days and
d. stubbornness nights.
7. Such are the vicissitudes of history. _____________________
Nothing remains the same. Three hundred
years of peace ended in darkness and 6. The students who arrived late told the teacher
confusion. an implausible story about stopping to
a. evils watch a UFO.
b. mistakes _____________________
c. changes
d. rules 7. After spending three weeks in the hospital, I
8. The purpose of the psychiatrist is to had a surfeit of daytime TV programming.
mitigate the suffering of the patient. _____________________
a. make milder
b. beautify 8. The prisoners liberated from the Nazi death
c. increase camp were so emaciated that they looked like
d. banish skeletons.
9. We knew he couldn’t hold out much _____________________
longer, because he had been doomed from the
beginning. One night he met his ineluctable 9. Bob decided to be prudent and call ahead for
fate. reservations, instead of just showing up.
a. forgotten _____________________
b. inevitable
c. hidden 10. The ambiguity of Joe’s directions made it
d. unhappy almost impossible to find his house.
10. A combination of fog and industrial _____________________
smoke, called smog, has vitiated the air in and
around many big cities. 11. The job candidate’s background was
a. concentrate impeccable – good references and many years
b. fill up of experience, but the company did not give her
c. replace the job.
d. contaminate _____________________

EXERCISE II: In the space provided, write a 12. The tranquilized grizzly bear was lethargic
synonym for each underlined word as it is enough for the scientists to safely examine his
used in context. teeth and tattoo his ears.
_____________________
1. His lucid lectures, along with his clearly
presented explanations, made him a popular