🧠 Vocabulary from Context: Inference Practice Worksheet

 

Instructions:

Read each sentence carefully. Use context clues to guess the meaning of the bolded word or expression. Answer the three prompts below each sentence.

  1. “After hours of negotiations, they finally reached a _mutual_ agreement that satisfied both sides.”

    • What do you think mutual means?
      → _____________________________________________

    • What clues in the sentence helped you guess?
      → _____________________________________________

    • Use it in your own sentence:
      → _____________________________________________

  1. “Even though she was nervous, she _pulled it off_ and delivered a great presentation.”

    • What do you think pulled it off means?
      → _____________________________________________

    • What clues in the sentence helped you guess?
      → _____________________________________________

    • Use it in your own sentence:
      → _____________________________________________

  1. “He’s been working around the clock to meet the deadline — he’s completely _burned out_.”

    • What do you think burned out means?
      → _____________________________________________

    • What clues in the sentence helped you guess?
      → _____________________________________________

    • Use it in your own sentence:
      → _____________________________________________

  1. “Their new product completely _flopped_, and the company lost thousands in the first week.”

    • What do you think flopped means?
      → _____________________________________________

    • What clues in the sentence helped you guess?
      → _____________________________________________

    • Use it in your own sentence:
      → _____________________________________________

  1. “She tried to sound confident, but her voice _gave her away_.”

    • What do you think gave her away means?
      → _____________________________________________

    • What clues in the sentence helped you guess?
      → _____________________________________________

    • Use it in your own sentence:
      → _____________________________________________

  1. “He’s always been a bit of a _lone wolf_ — prefers to work and spend time alone.”

    • What do you think lone wolf means?
      → _____________________________________________

    • What clues in the sentence helped you guess?
      → _____________________________________________

    • Use it in your own sentence:
      → _____________________________________________

  1. “They finally _called it quits_ after years of trying to keep the business afloat.”

    • What do you think called it quits means?
      → _____________________________________________

    • What clues in the sentence helped you guess?
      → _____________________________________________

    • Use it in your own sentence:
      → _____________________________________________

  1. “I was _taken aback_ by how rude the customer was — I didn’t expect that at all.”

    • What do you think taken aback means?
      → _____________________________________________

    • What clues in the sentence helped you guess?
      → _____________________________________________

    • Use it in your own sentence:
      → _____________________________________________

  1. “Although she didn’t get the promotion, she handled the situation with _grace_.”

    • What do you think grace means?
      → _____________________________________________

    • What clues in the sentence helped you guess?
      → _____________________________________________

    • Use it in your own sentence:
      → _____________________________________________

  1. “He’s trying to _cut corners_ by using cheaper materials, but it might backfire.”

  • What do you think cut corners means?
    → _____________________________________________

  • What clues in the sentence helped you guess?
    → _____________________________________________

  • Use it in your own sentence:
    → _____________________________________________