Tag Archives: context clues

Here is a context clues worksheet on the adjective furtive.  It means, variously, “done by stealth,” “surreptitious,” “expressive of stealth,” “sly,” “obtained underhandedly,” and “stolen.” The adjective is furtively and the noun is furtiveness. This is a relatively high-frequency word in English and one, I would argue, students really ought to know before they graduate high school.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Here is a context clues on the verb forecast, which is used transitively and intransitively. As a transitive verb, it means “to calculate or predict (some future event or condition) usually as a result of study and analysis of available pertinent data; especially: to predict (weather conditions) on the basis of correlated meteorological observations”  and “to indicate as likely to occur.” Used intransitively, forecast means “to calculate the future.”

Don’t forget that forecast is also used as a noun. Should you decide you want to recast this worksheet (it’s formatted, like just about everything else on this blog, in Microsoft Word, so you can alter it to suit your students’ needs) to reflect this word’s meaning as a noun, in that usage forecast means “a prophecy, estimate, or prediction of a future happening or condition.”

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Its use is complicated, so it is often misused, but here, nonetheless, is a context clues worksheet on the transitive verb comprise. It means “to include especially within a particular scope,” “to be made up of,” “compose,” and “constitute.” All of this said, before teaching this word, you might be well served to review usage rules for it.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Here is a context clues on the transitive verb compel. It means “to drive or urge forcefully or irresistibly” and “to cause to do or occur by overwhelming pressure.” This is commonly used word in English because it is useful. Enough said.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Here is a context clues worksheet on the noun cohesion. It means “the act or state of sticking together tightly, especially unity <the lack of unity in the Party —Times Lit. Supp.>,” “union between similar plant parts or organs,” and “molecular attraction by which the particles of a body are united throughout the mass.” This word tends to show up more commonly in its adjectival form, cohesive (“exhibiting or producing cohesion or coherence”). As this document is formatted in Microsoft Word, you can easily convert it to cohesive if that better suits your needs.

Otherwise, stay tuned, as I will eventually get around to writing a worksheet for cohesive. I suspect this one, on cohesion, was a word of the day at Merriam-Webster at some point, which is how it ends up in my warehouse.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Here is a context clues worksheet on the verb malinger. It is used only intransitively, which makes sense; it means “to pretend or exaggerate incapacity or illness (as to avoid duty or work).” I thought it carried a connotation–owing to the presence of the Latin root mal (i.e. bad, evil, ill, and wrong)–of hanging around with bad intent. Evidently not.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.