Skill
Use Context To Determine Meanings Of Difficult Words
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In the TOEFL ITP Reading Comprehension section, you will frequently encounter vocabulary questions that require you to determine the meaning of a difficult, unfamiliar, or academic word. The test does not expect you to know every possible word. Instead, it expects you to use context clues—information surrounding the word in the passage—to infer its meaning.
These context clues often appear in the same sentence as the word or in the sentence immediately before or after it. Effective use of context clues is essential for answering questions quickly and accurately.
Types of Context Clues
You can often determine the meaning of an unknown word through one or more of the following:
1. Definition Clues
The passage directly explains the meaning of the word.
- “Arboreal animals—those that live in trees—are common in tropical forests.”
→ The phrase after the dash defines arboreal.
2. Restatement or Synonym Clues
The sentence restates the idea with easier words.
- “The fortress was impregnable, completely impossible to break into.”
→ Impossible to break into clarifies impregnable.
3. Contrast or Antonym Clues
The sentence uses contrasting words such as however, although, unlike.
- “Unlike his gregarious brother, Tom is taciturn.”
→ Contrast shows taciturn = quiet.
4. Example Clues
Examples help you infer a general meaning.
- “Celestial objects such as stars, planets, and comets…”
→ Examples show celestial refers to things in space.
5. General Sense of the Sentence
Sometimes the overall meaning of the sentence is enough.
- “The solution was so elusive that even experts struggled with it.”
→ General meaning indicates elusive = difficult to find or understand.
How to Answer Context Vocabulary Questions
When a question asks what a word means:
- Locate the word in the passage.
- Read the entire sentence carefully.
- Check surrounding sentences for additional clues.
- Identify signal words (contrast, cause, examples, explanations).
- Infer the meaning using logic—not guesses.
- Choose the option closest in meaning based on context, not isolated knowledge.
This strategy is highly reliable and is consistently tested in TOEFL ITP Reading.
Exercise
Complete the following exercises to reinforce what you’ve learned:
PASSAGE 1 (Questions 1–4)
The black widow is the most dangerous spider living in the United States. It is most common in the southern regions of the country but can be found nationwide. The spider was given the name “black widow” because the female has occasionally been observed killing the male after mating and therefore becomes a widow.
The black widow is distinctive in appearance; it has a shiny, globular body roughly the size of a pea and is marked on its underside with a red or yellow spot. The female is considerably more ample than the male, usually four times larger on average.
A bite from a black widow can cause severe illness and intense pain. Although bites can sometimes be deadly, fatal cases are relatively rare compared to the number of bites reported each year.
1. In line 3, the word “widow” is closest in meaning to
(A) a type of venom
(B) a female whose mate has died
(C) the injured human victim
(D) the male spider
2. The word “globular” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
(A) transparent
(B) spherical
(C) rough
(D) hollow
3. In line 7, the word “ample” indicates that the spider is
(A) colorful
(B) abundant
(C) large
(D) rare
4. The word “deadly” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to
(A) harmful
(B) contagious
(C) poisonous
(D) fatal
PASSAGE 2 (Questions 5–8)
Tornadoes occur in many regions around the world, but for reasons that scientists do not completely discern, the vast majority take place in the United States. Approximately 700 tornadoes occur in the country each year, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the global total. Most are concentrated in the Midwest and in the southern states bordering the Gulf of Mexico.
Typically, a tornado cuts a narrow path and lasts less than an hour. An average tornado may propel itself at a speed of 15 to 20 miles per hour, covering a distance of up to 20 miles. However, some tornadoes are far more extreme. The most devastating tornado on record struck Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana on March 18, 1925. It carved a path over 200 miles long and more than a mile wide. Moving at 60 miles per hour, its winds swirled at more than 200 miles per hour at the storm’s center.
5. In paragraph 1, the word “discern” is closest in meaning to
(A) measure
(B) understand
(C) predict
(D) observe
6. The word “propel” in line 7 could best be replaced by
(A) move
(B) weaken
(C) break
(D) begin
7. The word “devastating” in line 9 is closest in meaning to
(A) destructive
(B) delayed
(C) described
(D) delicate
8. In paragraph 2, the word “swirled” is closest in meaning to
(A) rose
(B) circled
(C) decreased
(D) settled
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