When you meet a word you do not know, do not stop. Read the whole sentence and the sentences around it. The other words are called the context, and they often give you clues.
For example: “Dad was famished after work, so he ate two plates of rice.” Eating two plates suggests he was very hungry. So famished means very hungry.
Try your guess in place of the word. If the sentence still makes sense, you are probably right.
Worked example
Read: “The path was so slippery that we held the fence.” What does slippery mean?
- Why would you hold a fence? So you do not fall.
- Slippery must mean easy to slide on.
Answer:easy to slide on
Key words
- context
- the words around a word
- clue
- a hint that helps you
- meaning
- what a word tells us
Practise this
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: L.2.4a