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Context Clues Worksheets
When you encounter a vocabulary word with which you are unfamiliar, what do you do? Use the context clues to determine the word's meaning. In addition to the great context clues worksheets on this page, check out this free context clues game that I made. Students learn hundreds of challenging vocabulary words while playing a fun climbing game.
I used the context clues worksheets on this page to help my students in the classroom. I am sharing them with you in the hopes that they will help you as well. The words have been selected from texts recommended by Common Core. These context clues worksheets have been divided into three levels:
Context Clues Worksheets by Level
Level One
These are the easiest context clues worksheets. These worksheets were designed to help struggling students or students in lower grades. They were written to help students reading at a 3rd to 6th grade reading level. Be sure to preview all materials before using them in your classroom.
Context Clues Worksheet 1.1
This level one context clues worksheet covers 12 words that may be challenging for beginning readers. Students determine each words meaning based on context and then explain their answers.
Context Clues Worksheet 1.2
This level one context clues worksheet features twelve more context clues problems for students with beginning reading skills.
Context Clues Worksheet 1.3
Here are twelve more level one vocabulary words used in context rich sentences. Students will determine the meaning of the word based on its use and explain their answers.
Context Clues Worksheet 1.4
Here is another double-sided context clues worksheet. This one has twelve more level one vocabulary words. Remember, level one is the easiest. Check out level 2 or 3 if this worksheet is too easy.
Context Clues Worksheet 1.5
Here's another double-sided worksheet to give your students more practice with context clues. It features twelve level one vocabulary words. Students define the word based on how it was used in a sentence and then explain their answers.
Context Clues Worksheet 1.6
Here is yet another context clues worksheet to help students master this essential reading skills. This worksheet has 12 level one vocabulary words. Students will determine the meaning of the bolded word in each sentence based on context. Then they will explain their answers.
Context Clues Worksheet 1.7
This is the seventh level-one context clues worksheet. If you or your students can handle this task, perhaps it's time to move to level two. This worksheet features another 12 vocabulary words. Students read the sentences and figure out what the bold word means based on context. Then they explain their answers.
Level Two
These worksheets were designed for students with intermediate reading and vocabulary skills. They are written for students reading at a 5th to 8th grade reading level.
Context Clues Worksheet 2.1
Here's the first level two content clues worksheet. Level 2 worksheets contain vocabulary and use sentence structures that are more difficult than level 1 context clues worksheets. This worksheet features 12 tricky vocabulary words used in context-rich sentences. Students figure out the meaning of each word based on use, then they explain their answers.
Context Clues Worksheet 2.2
Here are twelve more moderately difficult problems. Students read each sentence and determine the meaning of the bold vocabulary words by using cross sentence clues.
Context Clues Worksheet 2.3
Here is another level-two context clues worksheet. It contains twelve problems with context rich sentences. Students use the cross sentence clues to determine the meaning of the bolded word and explain their answers.
Context Clues Worksheet 2.4
Here is another double-sided context clues worksheet. This one has twelve more level one vocabulary words. Remember, level one is the easiest. Check out level 2 or 3 if this worksheet is too easy.
Context Clues Worksheet 2.5
Here is another level-two context clues worksheet. It has twelve problems to help you or your students master this essential reading skill. Read the problems. Figure out what the bold vocabulary word means based on the context of the sentence and then explain.
Context Clues Worksheet 2.6
This is the sixth context clues worksheet in level two. As with the other context clues worksheets, it is double-sided and contains twelve problems. Students will determine the meaning of the bolded word in each sentence based on context. Then they will explain their answers.
Context Clues Worksheet 2.7
Here is the final level-two context clues worksheet. If you or your students can complete this one, perhaps it is time to move to level three. This worksheet is double-sided and contains twelve problems.Students read the sentences and figure out what the bold word means based on context. Then they explain their answers.
Level Three
These are the most difficult context clues worksheets. These were designed for students with advance reading and vocabulary skills. These worksheets may be appropriate for students reading at an 8th to 12th grade level.
Context Clues Worksheet 3.1
Here's the first level-three content clues worksheet. This worksheet features twelve challenging problems where students figure out the bold word's meaning based on the context of the sentence. Students also demonstrate higher order thinking skills by explaining their answers.
Context Clues Worksheet 3.2
Here's another level-three content clues worksheet. This worksheet features twelve more challenging problems where students use cross-sentence clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words. Then they explain their answers.
Context Clues Worksheet 3.3
Here is yet another level three context clues worksheet. It has 12 challenging vocabulary words in context rich sentences. Students will determine the meaning of bold vocabulary words based on the context of each sentence. Then they will explain their answers.
Context Clues Worksheet 3.4
Here is still another level-three context clues worksheet. Level-three vocabulary sheets are the most challenging. This worksheet features 12 more challenging vocabulary words used in context-rich sentences. Students will identify the meaning of the bolded vocabulary word based on the cross sentence clues and explain their answers.
Context Clues Worksheet 3.5
Just in case you didn't have enough practice with context clues, here is another double-sided worksheet. There are some real head scratchers on this one, but the context rich sentences will help you determine the meanings of the bolded words.
Context Clues Worksheet 3.6
Here's the first level-three content clues worksheet. This worksheet features twelve challenging problems where students figure out the bold word's meaning based on the context of the sentence. Students also demonstrate higher order thinking skills by explaining their answers.
Context Clues Worksheet 3.7
This is the seventh level-three context clues worksheet. Students who correctly complete this have mastered the skill of using context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words. You should probably start assigning them some other reading work. This worksheet has twelve challenging problems. Students figure out the bold word's meaning based on the context of the sentence. They also explain their answers.
What are Context Clues?
Context clues are hints in the sentence that help good readers figure out the meanings of unfamiliar words. When we look at the "context" of a word, we look at how it is being used. Based on how these words are used, and on our knowledge of the other words in the sentence, we make an educated prediction as to what the challenging vocabulary word may mean.
Example of Using Context Clues
Examine these lines from Lewis Carroll's poem, "Jabberwocky":
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!
The frumious Bandersnatch!
Jubjub, frumious, and Bandersnatch were NOT words before Carroll coined them. Yet readers are able to get meaning from them based on how the words are used. A reading of the whole poem is helpful way to introduce context clues to your students.
Free Context Clues Video Game
Context Clues Climber: Vocabulary Video Game
Are your students sick of vocabulary worksheets? Have them try this fun, high-interest computer game. Students climb to the tops of levels and answer over 500 vocabulary questions. They will be having so much fun, they won't even realize that they are studying vocabulary. Try it now!
Context Clues
Common Core State Standards
Context Clues Anchor Standards
R.4 - Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.RI.K.4 - With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
RI.1.4 - Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.
RI.2.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
RI.3.4 - Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
RI.4.4 - Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
RI.5.4 - Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
RI.6.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.
RI.7.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
RI.8.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
RI.9-10.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
RI.11-12.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).
Click to VIEW Grade Level Standards for R.4
L.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
L.K.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten reading and content.
L.1.4a - Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.2.4a - Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.3.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning word and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.4.4a - Use context (e.g., definitions, examples, or restatements in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.5.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies
L.6.4a - Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.7.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.8.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.9-10.4a - Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.11-12.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 11–12 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.K.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten reading and content.
L.1.4a - Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.2.4a - Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.3.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning word and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.4.4a - Use context (e.g., definitions, examples, or restatements in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.5.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies
L.6.4a - Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.7.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.8.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.9-10.4a - Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.11-12.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 11–12 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
Click to VIEW Grade Level Standards for L.4
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Marya
/ April 7, 2013These sheets are amazing! They’re just what I would have made, except now I don’t have to. Thanks for giving me my Sunday.
Mr. Morton
/ May 1, 2013Go Sundays!
Sarah
/ April 3, 2013I really enjoy having an answer key to check myself. I don’t think I would need one on this activity. For some grammar activities, I am scared I will make a mistake and grade my students incorrectly.
Mr. Morton
/ May 1, 2013I understand that. Providing answers keys is something that I’ve struggled with in the past. I am getting better at it.
Sue L.
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Mr. Morton
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lovelyn
/ March 13, 2013hahah .. i’m going to be a teacher! Yes!
Jasmine Lewis
/ March 13, 2013The worksheets are extremely helpful. My students love them also. Sure answer sheets would have been nice but the creator of the sheets is nice enough to make them available for free so I won’t complain about answer sheets. It would have taken me twice as long if I would have had to create the sheets myself. Thanks again.
Mr Mac
/ March 3, 2013Genius!
Thank you.
Who are these people wanting an answwer key? Get real! We have teachers like you at our school too. Shame on you!
carlos
/ February 26, 2013Came just in time for my students to practice more on this type. They are great and thanks to you, my students are mastering it more in depth. You are GREAT!!!!
Mr. Morton
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marj
/ February 12, 2013Well said, Campbell. Let’s continue to uplift each other, not tear each other down.
Liz
/ February 1, 2013Great tools for strengthening vocabulary! Thanks!!
Mrs. Hillis
/ January 25, 2013Love all these wonderful sheets! Great for EOC review–God Bless You!
Campbell
/ January 23, 2013I don’t think it’s the laziness giving teachers a bad rep as the rudness I just read. Our job is to work together for the benefit of our students, not rip into one another. I appreciate the resources, but not the degrading way we’ve spoken to one another. And we complain about our kids? Wow, how embarrasing to my profession.
Cecele Smythe
/ January 5, 2013Thank you sooooo much i enjoy using your worksheets i use them for both adult and children. Thanks again . Kingston Jamaica
Mr. Morton
/ January 5, 2013I’m so happy to hear it. I went to Jamaica once. It was beautiful. Thank you for visiting my website.
mikah
/ December 20, 2012hi Sir, thank you. I am still a student and these worksheet is very useful to me because this really helps me a lot in doing my research.. God Bless!
Phil
/ December 3, 2012Thanks for these. I plan to use some for EFL classes (with minor adaptation, as my students might not be familiar with N American English) but they look really useful. Thanks again.
Kate
/ November 8, 2012Mr. Morton, Thank you so much for these worksheets! My students are little brainiacs now and I’ve been receiving multiple phone calls about the “new vocabulary words” they are using at home.
Mr. Morton
/ November 13, 2012I’m so pleased to hear it. I plan on adding some more worksheets to this section over the upcoming break. Thanks for visiting!
Anna Laurie Ezelle
/ November 1, 2012I definitely appreciate the time you’ve put into this website. This site offers an abundance of relevant, challenging exercises for my middle school class. I thank you on behalf of myself and fellow 7th grade Language Arts teachers who use your resources regularly. The best site I’ve found in all of my scavenging the internet for tools to use in the classroom! Again, thank you so much!
Mr. Morton
/ December 2, 2012That’s kind of you to say. Best wishes!
Seme
/ October 23, 2012Awesome worksheets.. Thank you vey much.
zaifeena
/ October 18, 2012Thank you and bless you for being so kind in sharing these worksheets with everyone. Can’t wait to try it out with my students!
Joan
/ September 19, 2012Thanks for the worksheet i have my son practice from them it help me too to brush up on my skills.
Mr. Morton
/ September 27, 2012That sounds like good parenting to me.
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/ September 16, 2012i find the worksheets extremely helpful for us, teachers. I thank God for people like you who share the gift unselfishly. be more blessed!
Mr. Morton
/ September 27, 2012I appreciate your sentiments. Peace be with you.
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/ September 16, 2012thank you so much for making things easy for me.
William
/ September 8, 2012Outstanding resource. Thank you so much for your generosity in sharing your expertise. Very much obliged.
k~
/ September 2, 2012Thank you for sharing the effort you put into making these worksheets with other instructors. They are well done, helpful, and appreciated.
Rula
/ August 28, 2012Thank you for sharing these useful excercises. I always refer to them and they are a great help for busy teachers . 🙂
Aletha Adderholt
/ August 28, 2012Love the worksheets but yes answer keys would be awesome. I work 2-3 hours every night and countless hours on the weekend trying to get everything ready for my students. I also coach cheerleading, am the school spelling bee coordinator, and just trying to keep my head above water.
Are there any worksheets for summarizing and revising?
Mr. Morton
/ August 30, 2012Sorry, none currently, but thank you for the suggestions. Maybe after the smoke clears, so to speak.
Silvia
/ August 18, 2012Hello and thank you for putting this material online. I agree, no one should necessitate an answer sheet for these; it would take longer to find it then it would to analyze the responses oneself. One suggestion – I reviewed Context Clues Worksheet 1.2 RTF and saw a couple of grammatical mistakes you might want to correct: “it’s” should be “its” and “broke” should be “broken”.
Mr. Morton
/ August 30, 2012Thanks Silvia. I fixed the errors.
Phil
/ December 3, 2012Also shouldn’t it be ‘led’ not ‘lead’ in the question ‘What clues in the sentence lead you to your definition?’ ?
Mr. Morton
/ January 5, 2013Well, Phil, I’m choosing the simple present tense, rather than the simple past form, because I want the thinking to be occurring in the present. Feel free to amend the tense of the verbs if they don’t feel natural to you.
Victoria
/ August 15, 2012THIS is what I’ve been looking for. Exactly what I needed! Just when I was struggling to come up with my very own worksheets I wanted to create for my little learner I come across these treasures! Thank you!
Mr. Morton
/ August 30, 2012I’m pleased to hear it.
Christine
/ July 19, 2012Thank you for these worksheets! These are MUCH better than the workbooks I find at bookstores. These worksheets really help the students to think actively and develop reading strategies.
James Martin
/ July 18, 2012No such thing as a “lazy” teacher. I work my backside off for very little in return, and very little time to spare AND WOULDN’T CHANGE MY JOB FOR THE WORLD. If someone offers me an answer sheet I will take it! How dare you say “shouldn’t be a teacher then”. A flippant, pretentious comment. As a teacher YOU should know better than to make snap judgements. Your poor students, good luck to them.
apinya
/ July 13, 2012good examples & exercises. many thanks.
lovely parungao
/ July 2, 2012Thank you very much… so great a help for teachers….
Cynthia
/ May 14, 2012Thank you so much for sharing all of your hard work with us. I use your handouts all the time in my GED class and they are great. The students love them.
Mr. Morton
/ May 22, 2012I’m happy to hear that. Thanks for visiting.
Victoria Jackson
/ May 2, 2012Where is the answer key?
Pam
/ April 29, 2012Thanks SO very much. I downloaded ALL levels for my 6th graders thinking that I can use them with the different level readers in the classroom. I’ll be back! Wish you all the best.
Mr. Morton
/ May 3, 2012Great idea. I’d like to add to this section shortly. Thanks for visiting!
Maggie Warner
/ April 27, 2012REALLY great resources! THANKS!
Thea
/ March 30, 2012Thank you — this set was just what I was looking for to add practice for my little darlings who did not demonstrate mastery on our last little test.
Mary C
/ March 27, 2012I love this site. I am using it as review for my daughter and it has really helped her in the areas in which she was struggling. We used the genre reveiw today and she finally can distinguish between science fiction and fantasy. Thank you so much!
Mr. Morton
/ March 30, 2012That’s great. Some people just lump those together: science fiction / fantasy. The study of literary genres is less than exact. In any case, I appreciate your visits and it sounds like you are doing a fine job over there. Thanks for visiting.
Kanani
/ March 19, 2012You took a little bit of the the pain out lesson planning. I teach a supplementary English Lab class… and have had to find my own curriculum (at the last minute)…
I just love you. I would give you a big kiss. Are you married? *wink wink* just kidding 🙂
Mr. Morton
/ March 20, 2012I’m pleased to hear it, and happily married 😀
Lisa
/ March 12, 2012Thank You!
MJ
/ March 6, 2012Will you be creating any worksheets or powerpoint for making generalizations? Your work is extremely helpful. Thanks.
Mr. Morton
/ March 20, 2012No plans currently, but thank you for visiting.
Mel C.
/ March 5, 2012Just stumbled on this website and am very glad to see the poetry worksheets. . . my school’s adoption does not provide such practice. Thanks!
rebeccastacy
/ March 2, 2012Love the worksheets. Great tools for the classroom!
kim
/ February 27, 2012Thank you so much. I was looking for more samples of text structure for my students. Your PPT and practice Paragraphs were spot on perfect. Again thanks. My students will be taking their state assessment online next year, so I am transitioning to more online reading passages to prepare them for a new way of work.
Mr. Morton
/ March 3, 2012That’s awesome. I hope our state goes that direction too. Results must come back a lot quicker.
Ms. Williams
/ February 22, 2012Thanks for making these worksheets available. I appreciate the time and effort.
Mr. Morton
/ February 23, 2012I’m so happy to hear it. I have some more of these that I will be adding soon. Thanks for visiting!
Cynthia
/ May 14, 2012Yes, thank you so much for this site! I use your handouts all the time and they really help my adult students. (GED). Thank you for all of your hard work.
Antonia Frawley
/ February 22, 2012These worksheets are so helpful! I teach GED and developmental studies classes at a technical college. Getting meaning from context is an area in which many of my adults struggle. I model using context clues to find meaning, so the lack of an answer key is no issue for us. We have dictionaries handy, but have not needed them so far. I just wanted to express my appreciation for your hard work in establishing such a wonderful site!
Sean B
/ February 14, 2012If you can’t make your own answer key for this you shouldn’t be a teacher. Thanks for the worksheets mate.
Mrs. G
/ June 13, 2012AMEN! I get so tired of teachers being lazy! The lazy ones give ALL of us a bad name!
Thank you!!
Juwariyah
/ June 29, 2012If you are a teacher then you should know that many teachers like answer keys because WE are already super busy, its just a time saver. I think that was wrong for you to say what you said… If you’re a teacher then you’d know that and understand the need for it for some!
Phil
/ December 3, 2012Writing your own answer sheets doesn’t need to be a time-absorbing activity. You should make an answer sheet while planning your lesson, and this will give you some idea of how long it will take your students to complete the task, and also alert you to questions students might ask.
Dwight
/ January 28, 2013you’re a teacher; shouldn’t you know the definitions by now?
Excellent Resource!!
Teresa
/ February 13, 2012Are there answer keys for the context clues activities?
Amanda
/ February 6, 2012Rude much, Morton?
Mr. Morton
/ February 13, 2012I mean no offense.
Ann Finch
/ January 30, 2012Great higher level worksheets. Where are the answer keys for the teachers? Thank you.
Mr. Morton
/ January 31, 2012Hmm… none available yet. But, why wait for me when the dictionary is so handy?