Context Clues

1. Context Clues Using clues in a sentence to figure out the definition of an unknown word. Use your detective skills to identify the meaning of the underlined word in the following sentences.

2. The woman loathed her new purse; she returned it and purchased a new Coach purse instead. 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for loathed? Loved Inspired Run Hated 2. Which of the following is a suffix in the underlined word above? loathe loa ed th

3. The boy stood transfixed, watching as the baseball he hit flew over the outfield for his first homerun. 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for transfixed? Amazed Angrily Sadly Hard 2. Which of the following is a suffix in the underlined word above? loathe loa ed th

4. “The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees.” 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for torrent? Small Simile Flood Loud 2. Which of the following is an adjective in the sentence above? The A Of Gusty

5. The woman did not want the robbers to know she was in the house hiding, so she did not strive to get out of the cramped closet. 2. Which of the following is a coordinating conjunction in the above sentence? to so the of 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for strive? Peacefully Cry Hide Struggle

6. “If our eyes we’d close, then the lashes froze til sometimes we couldn’t see; it wasn’t much fun, but the only one to whimper was Sam McGee.” 2. Which piece if punctuation is used after the word “see” in the above sentence? colon semi-colon comma conjunction 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for whimper? Laugh Call Whine Hated

7. ‘Orpheus was inconsolable. All day long he mourned his bride, while birds, beasts, and the earth itself sorrowed with him.” 2.Which of the following is a prefix found in the word above? able Console in all 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for inconsolable? Heartbroken Happy Excited Large

8. The mountain climbers ascended the mountain, trying to get to the top before nightfall. 2.Which of the following is a suffix found in the underlined word above? As cend d ed 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for ascended? Fall Call Go down Climbed up

9. “The student’s mouth was parched ; she asked Mrs. Hoot if she could get a drink. 2. Which of the following is a suffix found in the underlined word above? par parch ed d 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for parched? Wet Dry Young Damp

10. “But as the river flows downwards to the sea, it becomes wide and shallow, extending into pestilential marshes, the home of fatal diseases. 2. Which of the following is an adjective from the sentence above? But as flows wide 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for pestilential? Lively Dry Deadly Wet

11. “The pliant branch allowed the ship wrecked sailor to use it to create a bow. 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for pliant? Hard Easily bent Thick Damp 2. Which of the following words in the sentence above is a noun? sailor create a pliant

12. The students were admonished for throwing food in the cafeteria. 1. Which of the following words would be the best antonym for admonished? Warned Praised Yelled at Hated 2. Which of the following is a suffix in the underlined word above? ad admonish ed mon

13. The breach in the damn was followed by a torrent of water rushing towards the town. 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for breach? Seal Close Water Opening 2. Which of the following is a suffix in the underlined word above? ad admonish ed mon

14. Police searched a three square mile area for the brigand accused of robbing the bank . 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for brigand? Police Officer Good Samaritan Teacher Outlaw 2. Which of the following is an action verb in the sentence above? Brigand Bank Searched Mile

15. The hunter was circumspect while approaching the bear; he wanted to make sure the bear would not attack. 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for circumspect? Reckless Wild Careful Careless 2. Which of the following is a suffix in the underlined word above? ad admonish ed mon

16. The Navy Seal commandeered the vehicle from the man to chase down the enemy. 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for commandeered? Seized Gave Quickly Hated 2. Which of the following is the root word in the underlined word above? Commandeered Commandeer Ed Comm

17. It took five people to get the clumsy, cumbersome couch up the stairs and through the narrow hallway . 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for cumbersome? Clumsy Small Easy to move couch d. Circumspect 2.Which literary device is seen in the sentence above? Hyperbole Alliteration Metaphor Simile

18. The Muncy and Hughesville basketball teams were in a deadlock; the game had to go into overtime. 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for deadlock? agreement gym standstill progress 2. Which of the following words in the above sentence is a proper noun? game basketball overtime Hughesville

19. Debris was scattered all over the ground after the building was torn down. 2. Which of the following words in the sentence above is a preposition? was the over torn 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for debris? money mud new materials rubble

20. The perfume store tried to diffuse the smell of their fragrances into the mall to attract customers. 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for diffuse? concentrate spread sell keep 2. Which of the following words above is a preposition? attract mall perfume into

21. The firefighters struggled for hours to come up with an answer to the dilemma of how to get the cat out of the tree. 2.Which of the following words in the sentence above is an action verb? hours of cat struggled 1. Which of the following words would be the best synonym for dilemma? answer response problem debris

22. “Grim and unmoving sat the dark king of the dead on his ebony throne, yet the tears shone on his rigid cheeks in the light of his ghastly torches. 2.The above sentence is a simple sentence compound sentence Which of these words is synonym of ghastly? bright horrible radiant debris

23. “He toiled up the path in reluctance and despair, stopping, listening, sighing, take a few slow steps until the dark thinned out into grayness.” 2.The above sentence is a simple sentence compound sentence Which of these words is synonym of reluctance? willingness unwillingness happiness joy

24. “But at last Hera realized that Echo was doing this on purpose to detain her while Zeus went quietly back to Olympus as if he had never really been away.” 2.The above sentence is a simple sentence compound sentence Which of these words is synonym of detain? speed up help assist delay

25. The narcissistic man looked at himself in the mirror everyday; he only cared about himself. 2. The word “he” as used in the sentence above is a noun Pronoun only cared Which of these words is synonym of narcissistic? self-loving helpful caring charitable

26. “Well, he shall love himself and no one else, and yet shall die of unrequited love.” 2. The prefix “un”, as used in the word unrequited, means again not opposite middle Which of these words is synonym of unrequited? mutual helpful caring unreturned

27. “Drawing out his arms, he gazed intently downward, as the water grew still again, saw once more the face of his beloved.” 2. The use of the sufflix “ly” makes the word intently an adjective b. adverb interjection article Which of the following best defines the underlined word in the sentence? with great care quickly with great concentration With little thought

28. “But he could not long escape the anger of Juno, who afflicted him with a sudden madness, so he did not know what he was doing.” 2. The use of the sufflix “ed” makes the word afflicted a past tense adjective b. adverb interjection past tense verb Which of the following best defines the underlined word in the sentence? helped tormented assisted chased

29. Hydra was a snake with six venomous heads filled with poison. 2. The use of the sufflix “ous” makes the word venomous an adverb b. adjective interjection Which of the following best defines the underlined word in the sentence? harmless poisonous helpful mean

30. Inside the palace the king called for a goblet with water. As soon as it touched his lips he was no longer parched. Which of the following best defines the underlined word in the sentence? barrel ground plate d. cup 2. What is the antecedent of the word “he” in the above sentence? a. palace b. goblet c. lips d. the king

31. The brigands ravaged the town, leaving nothing standing. Which of the following is an antonym of the underlined word? destroyed built attacked d. held 2. What is the antecedent of the word “he” in the above sentence? a. palace b. goblet c. lips d. the king

32. “The old man was very frightened and implored him to give up the idea, for he would only die and perhaps all those in the house too. Which of the following is a synonym of the underlined word? destroyed begged attacked d. told 2. An adjective in the above sentence is a. the b. was c. him d. old

33. Justin Bieber waited for the audience to arrive for the concert before he commenced singing. 2. What is the antecedent of the word “he” in the above sentence? a. audience b. Justin Bieber c. singing d. arrive Which of the following is a synonym of the underlined word? stopped kept began d. halted

34. The helicopter hovered over the school before landing on the football field. 2. As used in the above sentence, the suffix “ed” means a. adjective b. adverb c. past tense verb d. present tense verb Which of the following is a synonym of the underlined word? stopped landed floated d. halted

35. The brigand was an imposter. He had dressed up to look like a police officer. 2. What is the antecedent of the word “he” in the above sentence? a. audience b. Justin Bieber c. singing d. arrive Which of the following best defines the underlined word? fake real actual d. student

36. The store clerk cowered under the counter as the brigands made off with the money. 2. As used in the sentence above, the word “money” is a a. verb b. pronoun c. noun d. preposition Which of the following best defines the underlined word? stood bravely stood his ground to talk calmly to d. trembled in fear

37. The ballerina was lithe; she was able to make jumping, bending, and dancing look easy. 2. What is the antecedent of the word “she” in the above sentence? a. dancing b. ballerina c. was d. bending Which of the following best defines the underlined word? fake cumbersome flexible and graceful d. inflexible

38. The boat was tethered to the shoreline; the captain did not want it to float away. 2. What is the antecedent of the word “it” in the above sentence? a. captain b. shoreline c. boat d. float Which of the following best defines the underlined word? loose floating untied d. tied

39. It took the Americans months to decipher the codes the Germans used during World War II. 2. What part of speech is decipher? a. adverb b. adjective c. noun d. verb Which of the following best defines the underlined word? scramble figure out code d. challenge

40. The student was unable to evade Mr. Allen; he was eventually caught and given two hours of detention. 2. What is the antecedent of the word “he” in the above sentence? a. Mr. Allen b. student c. detention d. caught Which of the following best defines the underlined word? avoid find catch d. discover

41. The principal worked hard to abate the bullying in the school; he had an assembly for all students to discuss the effects of bullying. 2. What is the antecedent of the word “he” in the above sentence? a. bullying b. students c. assembly d. principal Which of the following best defines the underlined word? increase stop keep d. discover

42. Demigod– the offspring of a god and a mortal, who has some but not all the powers of a god Write an original simile using the vocabulary word. Be ready to share your example with the class!

43. Grim– gloomy Write a sentence with personification using the vocabulary word. Be ready to share your example with the class!

44. Mast– vertical part of a ship that supports the sails Write an original sentence using the vocabulary word about the picture.

45. Moor- To fix in place, secure. Write a sentence with a hyperbole using the vocabulary word.

46. Motley-Having a great variety Write a sentence about your favorite celebrity using the vocabulary word.

47. Prow- The forward part of a ships hull Write a sentence about the above picture that includes onomatopoeia.

48. Skiff– A flat bottomed boat Share a personal connection about a time you have seen or been in a skiff.

49. Scythe- An tool consisting of a long, curved single edged blade with a long bent handle, used for mowing or reaping. List two ways a scythe might be used on a farm here in Muncy.

50. Tweak– To twist sharply Write an original sentence using the vocabularyword.