Claret College of Isabela

Junior High School

P.O. Box 8692 Roxas Avenue, Isabela City, Basilan Province, 7300 Philippines
Tel. No. (062) 200 - 7697 / 200 – 7009 Telefax: (062) 200 - 3865

NAME: ____________________________________________ DATE: _______________________

GRADE AND SECTION:_______________________________ OUTPUT NO: ________________

Context Clues
English-8
(LESSON/OUTPUT TITLE)

LESSON OBJECTIVES:
 Determine contextual clues to clarify meanings.
 Evaluate the significance of knowing content clues in understanding one’s thoughts/ideas.
 Use various strategies in decoding the meaning of words.

VALUES INTEGRATION:
 Unity

You are asked to read and study the “ Language Grammar”, providing contextual clues to clarify
meanings.After reading, please answer Practice on page 146 of your book.

Points to Ponder:
 Context clues- is the part of a passage where the word is used and which helps to explain that word.It
indicate which of the possible meanings of word is intended by the writer or speaker.

Do you know what famished means? If not, you should be able to tell from the following context.
It was already nine in the morning, and we all felt famished because we had not had any breakfast.
How do you feel when the morning has gone by and you have not had breakfast?Very hungry, of course,
even starved. Therefore, famished in the above context means “ very hungry”.

Note that the above context does not contain a synonym or an antonym to help you with the
meaning of famished. But it does offer a clue in the words “ we had not any breakfast”, so you can get
the meaning by using your common sense.
Providing contextual clues to clarify meanings.If someone asked you the meaning of bear, you
would not know what to say because bear has no context. But someone said “ polar bear”, then you
would know that he/she was talking about an animal. And if he/she said instead, “ Myrna will bear her
baby today”, then you would know that in this context bear meant “ deliver a baby”.
What this means is that you can get the meaning of difficult words from their context.You may not
know the meaning of valiant in the following context, you have a good chance of getting its meaning:

Cowards are afraid to die, but the valiant are not.

In the sentence two ideas are contrasted- cowards and the valiant.Therefore, the valiant means the
opposite of “ cowards”, namely “ brave men”.Valiant means “ brave”.You got the meaning of the word
from opposite word, called an antonym.
 Claret College of Isabela
Junior High School
P.O. Box 8692 Roxas Avenue, Isabela City, Basilan Province, 7300 Philippines
Tel. No. (062) 200 - 7697 / 200 – 7009 Telefax: (062) 200 - 3865

NAME: ____________________________________________ DATE: _______________________

GRADE AND SECTION: _______________________________ OUTPUT NO: __________________

ENGLISH-8
 Task 1
You may also learn the meaning of an unfamiliar word from a similar word, or synonym, in the
sentenc, read page 145 and answer pages 146-147.
Using contextual clues for unlocking vocabulary difficulties, read page 283 and please answer
Practice and Performance on pages 284-285.
 Task 2
Direction: Each sentence below has an underlined word or phrase. Choose the word or phrase that is most
nearly similar in meaning to the underlined word.

1. The Defense Panel presented its case to the Jury in a trenchant manner.
A. defensive C. cautious
B. vague D. dignified
2. Indulgent parents spoil their children by giving in to their every demands and whims.
A. loving C. beneficial
B. generous D. yielding
3. Because of the drug’s soporific effect, you should not drive after taking it.
A. inimical C. noxious
B. poignant D. sedative
4. A group of dissident students from the Youth Freedom Movement is believed to be engaged in furtive
activities.
A. cause- oriented C. vicious
B. illegal D. secret
5. He is more concerned with mundane matters like the movement of stock market.
A. simple C. wordly
B. financial D. economic
6. There is no panacea that will solve our financial difficulty.
A. cure- all C. paradox
B. problem D. criteria

7. Lorenzo Ruiz refused to renounce his faith even though he knew he would suffer martyrdom.
A. announce C. abandon
B. refute D. reconcile
 Claret College of Isabela
Junior High School
P.O. Box 8692 Roxas Avenue, Isabela City, Basilan Province, 7300 Philippines
Tel. No. (062) 200 - 7697 / 200 – 7009 Telefax: (062) 200 - 3865

8. The lawyer was accused of trying to mulct his client of his legacy.
A. swindle C. appease
B. avenge D. suggest
9. Health benefits and financial assistance are part of the remuneration that goes with the position.
A. allowances C. contribution
B. compensation D. advantages
10. Let him think the juice. It is innocuous and will have no effect.
A. incapable C. harmful
B. non dangerous D. narrow-minded

Reflection:
Context clues as mentioned above, is used to clarify meanings.How does utilizing your knowledge help in
understanding others’ thoughts/ feelings/ideas?How does this contribute to unity?( 10 pts )
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Click to these links and learn more.....

 http://www.vocabulary.co.il/context-and-definitions/middle-school/call-of-the-
wild-context-match/
 http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/ling008 b1.html
 Claret College of Isabela
Junior High School
P.O. Box 8692 Roxas Avenue, Isabela City, Basilan Province, 7300 Philippines
Tel. No. (062) 200 - 7697 / 200 – 7009 Telefax: (062) 200 - 3865
 Claret College of Isabela
Junior High School
P.O. Box 8692 Roxas Avenue, Isabela City, Basilan Province, 7300 Philippines
Tel. No. (062) 200 - 7697 / 200 – 7009 Telefax: (062) 200 - 3865