Context Clue Graphic Organizer
The following is a graphic organizer for identifying and keeping track of context clues, or
hints, that authors include in a text to help readers determine the meaning of new words.
This graphic organizer can be used when supporting students at home or in the classroom as
they read academic and literary texts. The graphic organizer supports the identification and
understanding of three types of context clues:
1. Definition and Explanation Context Clues
2. Synonym and Restatement Context Clues
3. Antonym and Contrast Context Clues
The child or teen will then record the deduced meaning of the unfamiliar word on the
graphic organizer.
Additional Resource
For more information on context clues, read the Iowa Reading Research center blog post
Supporting Your Children’s and Teens’ Home Learning: Using Context Clues to Understand
New Words by Anna Gibbs.
Context Clue Graphic Organizer
Unfamiliar Word Context Clue Word Meaning
3 Types of Context Clues
Definition and
Explanation Clues
Synonym and
Restatement Clues
Antonym and
Contrast Clues
Definition and explanation context clues define and explain the
meaning of an unfamiliar word.
Synonym and restatement context clues provide the meaning of an
unfamiliar word by using other words or phrases that have a similar
meaning.
Antonym and contrast context clues provide the meaning of an
unfamiliar word by using other words or phrases that have the
opposite meaning.