In an English Language exam, you may come across questions about words in context. These are multiple-choice questions that ask you to consider the meaning of a word. You can identify them by paying close attention to how the questions are worded. To answer words in context questions, you should look for the circumstances surrounding the passage each question is based on.
Words in Context Meaning
«Words in context» refers to how words change meaning in different circumstances. Words often mean slightly different things depending on their context.
Context is the set of facts and circumstances that surround a word or phrase in a text.
Context sometimes changes the meaning of words. For example, the word «restrain» means different things depending on its context.
- I had to restrain my laughter when he fell over that chair!
- The coach had to restrain the football team captain to keep a fight from breaking out.
- These tariffs were designed to restrain international trading.
What changes the meaning of «restrain» in each of these examples? The circumstances surrounding them!
- In the first example, the fact that something funny happened made it clear «restrain» means to control emotions.
- In the second example, the mention of a possible fight indicates «restrain» means to physically hold back.
- In the third example, the verb «designed» and the reference to international trade made it clear that «restrain» means to limit trade.
When answering questions about words in context, you are really just identifying how the meaning of a word changes based on the circumstances that surround it.
Words in Context Identification
There are two primary types of context: Immediate context and broad context.
Immediate context includes the words, phrases, and sentences of the passage surrounding the word.
Broad context includes the larger historical, biographical, and genre considerations in which the passage was written.
Here is how you identify each type of context.
Identifying Immediate Context
Ask yourself some questions.
- What is the situation being described in this passage?
- What is the tone the author takes in this passage?
- What other words in this passage can help me understand how this word is being used?
- What similar words does the author use in this passage?
Identifying Broad Context
Ask yourself some questions.
- When was this passage written or published?
- Where was this passage written or published?
- Who wrote this passage? What do I know about them?
- What type of genre is this passage?
- What do I know about the political, social, or economical situation in which this passage was written?
Fig. 1 — Look out for the big, big picture.
Words in Context Questions
The purpose of words in context questions is to check your understanding of how circumstances can change the meaning of the words or the passage around them. Understanding the effects of context is important for understanding language AND the world around you.
Context changes everything. Everything you read, write, watch, listen to, or do is shaped by context. Think about what it’s like to learn about your favorite author. You probably first read their books with an idea of what it meant. However, once you learned more about the author’s life and the time period they lived in, this probably changed what their writing meant to you. The context of their writing changed what their writing means.
Words in context questions are great practice for identifying and explaining context. They remind you of how circumstances can change what something means. Identifying context and how it changes meaning is a key feature of critical thinking.
Words in Context Examples
Words in context questions are multiple choice questions. Just like other multiple choice questions, they appear immediately after a reference passage from a story, poem, or essay.
A reference passage is the passage of text a question refers to. It appears before each set of multiple choice questions.
Here is an example of a reference passage in an English Language exam:
Fig. 2 — Example passage.
Words in context questions are based on reference passages. Reference passages have numbered lines so you can easily refer to the correct lines when answering questions about the passage.
Words in context questions include a list of possible word or phrase choices to answer the question. Your job is to select the word or phrase that best answers the question, considering the context of the passage.
In the passage, the author uses the phrase «revolutionary methods» primarily to:
(A) Contrast the needs of modern women against those of historical women.
(B) Emphasize the humanity of women.
(C) Compare the methods of modern women to those of historical men.
(D) To criticize the suffrage movement.
Did you get C for this question? If so, you’re right! If you didn’t, or simply if you want a little more information, the following section contains how you might arrive at this answer.
How to Answer Words in Context Questions
To answer words in context questions, read the reference passage, identify context clues, predict the answer, and test out each possibility. Follow this 4-step process to effectively answer questions about words in context.
1. Read the Reference Passage
Before looking at the questions, read the reference passage closely. Mark any words, phrases, or sentences that reflect the author’s purpose.
2. Identify Context Clues
After reading the passage, take a moment to identify context clues.
Context clues are anything that gives you an idea of the context of a passage.
Here are some context clues you might identify:
- Words that indicate the author’s tone and attitude toward the subject
- Sentences that indicate the genre of the passage.
- Information on the location, time period, or other historical aspects of the passage.
- Information on the author.
- Words and phrases that give you a sense of the author’s purpose.
3. Predict the Answer
Don’t look at the answer choices at first. Instead, try to make an educated guess. What do you think the right answer might be, without looking at the answer choices? This will help anticipate possible answers.
For example, you might think of a synonym for «compromise.» You find your guess isn’t in the list of options. However, the synonym you guessed most closely aligns with one of the answer options! You just made things a lot easier on yourself by trying to make an educated guess first.
Fig. 3 — Make educated not random predictions.
4. Test out Each Possibility
Once you have an educated guess, it’s time to consider the answer options. Take a moment to try out each answer. For example, if the question asks you to select the best synonym for a word, just replace that word with each answer option. See which one makes the most sense.
Words in Context — Key Takeaways
- «Words in context» refers to how words change depending on their context, the set of facts and circumstances that surround a word or phrase.
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The purpose of words in context questions is to check your understanding of how context changes things.
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Words in context questions appear immediately after a reference passage and include a list of possible word choices to choose from.
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To identify words in context questions, read each question closely to see what it asks you and how it phrases the question.
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To answer words in context questions, read the reference passage, identify context clues, predict the answer, and test out each possibility.
You Don’t Have to Memorize Terms to Understand Their Meaning
Andrius Aleksandravicius / EyeEm / Getty Images
Updated on January 20, 2020
Reading comprehension is one of the most difficult skills to master yet also one of the most prominent. In fact, most standardized tests feature reading comprehension-based questions. Reading comprehension involves skills like finding the main idea, making inferences, determining the author’s purpose, and understanding familiar and unfamiliar vocabulary words.
Context Clues
The good news is that one of the most important reading comprehension skills, understanding vocabulary, can be easily mastered using a tool always available to you: context. You can understand any new vocabulary term using only the context around it. By looking at the elements of a passage, an unknown vocabulary word reveals its meaning. For this reason, you’ll never have to memorize every word—you only have to remember how to use context clues.
Take the word «acerbity», for example. You might not understand this word on its own without a definition, but in a sentence, you have all the information you need: “The acerbity of the lemon caused the little girl to spit out the bite she had just taken.” The girl’s reaction to the lemon, spitting it out, tells you that the taste was unpleasant. Knowing that lemons are sour/bitter, you can ascertain that it was the lemon’s extreme sour/bitterness or acerbity that caused the little girl to spit it out.
Sample Standardized Test Question
As mentioned, reading comprehension questions can be found on almost any standardized test, so make sure you’re prepared to ace them. Pay attention to tense and tone as well. A vocabulary-related question on a test often looks something like this:
Read the passage and answer the question that follows.
After the first day on the job, the bank’s new manager realized he would be busier than he had been led to believe. Not only was he assisting the bank tellers with their work, but his new boss had decided to inundate him with other tasks like creating security systems, managing the bank’s deposits and refunds, securing loans, and maintaining daily operations. The new manager was exhausted as he locked the bank up for the night.
The best definition for the word “inundate» is:
- overload
- provide
- assault
- underwhelm
Hint: Figure out if your choice is correct is by swapping each answer with the word «inundated» in the passage. Which word fits the intended meaning best? If you said «overload», you’d be correct. The new manager was given more tasks than he could handle—he was overloaded/inundated with tasks.
Understanding Vocabulary Words
You’ll rarely be asked to define new words by themselves without any additional information, which means you’ll be given plenty of opportunities to practice using context clues. The following exercise is designed to help you sharpen the skill of understanding unfamiliar words in context.
Exercise
Try to determine the meanings of the italicized vocabulary words using context clues in the sentences. There is more than one correct answer for each, so write as many synonyms/definitions as you can think of.
- Pablo always showed animosity toward his teachers by throwing spitballs and mouthing off, but his sister Mary was kind and sweet.
- The little girl was showing signs of ocular problems—she squinted to read the blackboard and complained of headaches after working on the computer for too long.
- The crowd rewarded the singer with plaudits, clapping and cheering through a standing ovation.
- Elena’s repudiation of Jerry’s bad table manners was obvious to everyone at dinner as she dropped her napkin and left the table.
- From the far past to the present day, the moon has been thought to cause lunacy. Some studies have shown that this momentary insanity does have some association with lunar phases.
- The old man’s hair was sparse rather than thick and full like it was when he was young.
- Janie was as devout as the Pope himself when it came to praying.
- My sister Kimmy shows a great abhorrence for crowds, whereas my little brother Michael loves to be the center of attention.
- The teacher admonished her student for misbehaving during the lesson.
- The sorcerer’s minions were willing to complete any task they were given as long as evil was not conjured upon them.
- 97 pairs is a superfluous number of shoes.
- The spy was hung at the gallows of his homeland for his perfidious deeds.
- “Busy as a bee” and “quiet as a mouse” are hackneyed phrases—they’re used all the time.
- Amelia was as pretentious as a princess when she arrived at the party. She tossed her coat to the hostess and grabbed a drink out of a nearby guest’s hand.
- We always listen to my great-aunt because she is venerable, but we ignore my niece’s advice because she’s only six.
Answers
- hatred; extreme dislike
- related to the eye
- extreme praise
- denial; refutation; rejection
- insanity; madness; psychosis
- thin; spare; light; meager
- pious; religious; sincere
- hatred; loathing; disgust
- reprimanded; cautioned; reproved
- crony; underling; follower
- excessive; extra; surplus; redundant
- disloyal; treacherous; deceitful
- trite; clichéd; worn out
- showy; pompous; entitled
- respected; esteemed; revered
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This is a listening activity based on the AJ+ video “The Story Behind Your Bowl Of Ramen Noodles”. I suggest that you read the following vocabulary list before watching the video. Then, watch the video and try to complete the sentences with the correct word from the box.
VOCABULARY
Bowl: 
Migrant: a person who goes from one place to another especially to find work.
Ex. Economic migrants move abroad to escape poverty and improve their financial condition.
Labor: workers considered as a group.
Ex. We had this huge harvest, so we had to hire all this cheap labor.
Shortage: a state in which there is not enough of something that is needed.
Ex. In many European countries, agricultural businesses complain about the shortage of skilled workers.
Wheat: 
Consumption: the act of eating or drinking something.
Ex. Alcohol consumption constitutes a major danger to road safety.
Uprising: an act of resistance or rebellion; a revolt.
Ex. He weighed 38 kilos when he escaped from prison during the 1956 Hungarian uprising and fled to the Netherlands.
To lead: to lie or go in a specified direction.
Ex. This way will lead us to the main entrance for sure.
Affordable: inexpensive; reasonably priced.
Ex. Railways have many benefits, as travelling by rail is affordable and environmentally friendly.
Lifestyle: the way a person lives or a group of people live.
Ex. Technology, the internet, they have changed our lifestyle.
Quintessential: the most important part of something.
Ex. Sheep’s milk cheese is the quintessential Corsican cheese.
Dorm: informal, short for dormitory.
Image source
Wildfire/ like wildfire: (informal) very quickly.
Ex. The news had spread like wildfire.
To devour: eat hungrily or quickly.
Image source
Downloadable PDF version: The Story Behind Your Bowl Of Ramen – Vocabulary
Fill in the gaps in the following sentences with the correct word from the box
- This signature Japanese ___________ is now an international favorite.
- Ramen as we know it comes from Japan but its popularity in the country is actually ___________ new.
- Then Japan entered World War II which led to major food ___________ across the country and ramen’s popularity pretty much disappeared.
- When the war ended the US occupied Japan and imported a whole lot of wheat to the country, leading to more noodle _____________________.
- And one reason why there was so much ______________ imported was because there was a fear that food shortages could lead to _________________uprising.
- After those really hard times, from the 1950s to 1970s Japan went through an _____________________ boom.
- And busy lifestyles led to the creation ________________ ramen in the 1950s.
- Then in the 1970s the super convenient just add water ________________ dorm food cup of noodles was made and it took off like ________________ in Japan and internationally.
- But it wasn’t until the 1980s that ramen actually became an_______________ part of Japanese culture.
- Today the love for ramen is real in Japan and what was once a working men’s food is now a ___________________ love and __________________ dish around the world.
Downloadable PDF version (without answers): The Story Behind Your Bowl Of Ramen Noodles – AJ+ – Fill in the gaps exercise
Downloadable PDF version (answers): The Story Behind Your Bowl Of Ramen Noodles – AJ+ – Exercise’s answers