Which strategy uses surrounding words to figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word?

• A. Context clues
• B. Prefix
• C. Suffix
• D. Root

Answer: (A)

Using context clues means figuring out an unfamiliar word by looking at the surrounding words and ideas in the sentence or paragraph. The surrounding words often hint the meaning directly, show contrasts, or provide synonyms or examples that clarify what the word means. For example, if a sentence says, “The hike was arduous, with steep climbs and long days,” you can infer that arduous means difficult or strenuous from the context. This strategy is about how the word is used in context, not about the word’s parts by themselves. Prefixes, suffixes, and roots, on the other hand, give clues from the word’s construction rather than from the rest of the sentence, so they serve a different purpose.