Context clues are used to infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word from surrounding text.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only for difficult words
• D. Only in fiction

Answer: (A)

Context clues let you figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word by looking at the surrounding text. When you hit a word you don’t know, the nearby words and sentences often hint at what it means—sometimes the author explains the word directly, sometimes a synonym or contrast is given, and sometimes an example or the overall situation makes the sense clear. For example, if a sentence says, “The manuscript was inscrutable, with symbols that were impossible to interpret,” you can infer that inscrutable means hard to understand because the context emphasizes difficulty. Or, “She was benevolent, donating to the shelter even in tough times,” suggests benevolent means kind. This approach isn’t limited to difficult words or to fiction; it appears in all kinds of writing, including nonfiction, and helps you build understanding of many unfamiliar terms.