Year 4 English: Word meanings in context, shades of meaning and figurative language
Part of the Year 4 English reading fiction and vocabulary chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Word meanings in context, shades of meaning and figurative language
Good readers work out the meaning of a word from its context: the words, sentences and ideas around it. The hints that help you are called clues.
Shades of meaning are the small differences between words that mean nearly the same thing. Crept, walked and stomped all mean moving on foot, but each one gives a different picture. A writer chooses the word with the right shade.
Figurative language paints a picture. A simile compares two things using like or as. A metaphor says one thing is another, without like or as. Personification gives a human action to something that is not human: the wind whispered.
Key ideas
- Use the context: the words and ideas around a word often give its meaning.
- Try the meaning in the sentence. If it fits the clues, it is probably right.
- Shades of meaning: crept is quiet and slow; stomped is loud and heavy.
- A simile uses like or as; a metaphor says one thing is another; personification gives a human action to a thing.
Read: The Silver Music Box
The attic was gloomy, and the air felt stale. Nadia shone her torch across the dusty floor. Boxes were piled high, and a frail chair leaned against the wall, its legs wobbly with age. In one corner, something glimmered. Nadia crept closer, careful not to disturb the cobwebs that drooped from the beams. It was a silver music box, its lid decorated with tiny stars. Nadia's heart thudded with excitement. She wound the key slowly, and a tinkling tune filled the room. The melody was as sweet as honey, and Nadia forgot all about the cold. Her grandmother had said the box was lost years ago. Nadia felt a surge of pride as she carried it down the stairs, holding it very carefully.
Method. Use the clues in the sentence to work out the meaning.
- Find the clues. The legs are wobbly, and the chair is old.wobbly, with age
- Work out the meaning. A chair with wobbly legs is not strong, so it could break easily.not strong
- Check that it fits. Weak and easily broken fits both clues.weak and easily broken
- Write the answer. weak and easily broken
Check. Weak and easily broken fits both clues. ✓
Method. Compare the shade of each word.
- Think about each word. Stomped is loud and heavy, walked is ordinary, and crept is slow and quiet.stomped = loud; walked = ordinary; crept = quiet
- Choose the word for careful movement. Careful and quiet matches crept.crept
- Check the others. Stomped would sound noisy, so it does not show care.crept (slow and quiet)
- Write the answer. crept (slow and quiet)
Check. Crept matches careful, quiet movement. ✓
Method. Look for like or as, and the two things being compared.
- Look for like or as. A simile compares two things using like or as.like
- Find the two things. The moon is compared with a silver coin.the moon / a silver coin
- Copy the simile. Copy the words from like to the end of the comparison.like a silver coin
- Write the answer. like a silver coin
Check. Like starts the simile, and it ends with coin. ✓
Watch out. A metaphor does not use like or as.
Watch out
Watch out: a word may have more than one meaning in a dictionary. Choose the meaning that fits the sentence and its clues. Also, a metaphor does not use like or as, so do not call it a simile.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Cover the hard word with your finger and read the sentence. Ask your child: what does the sentence tell us? Then uncover the word and check that the meaning fits.
Exercise 8B Practice: word meanings, shades and figures of speech
Method. Test each choice against the sentence and the text.
- Read the sentence with the word in it. Decide what the sentence needs.
- Test the choice in the sentence. Nadia needs a torch, and the air feels stale, so the attic is dim and unwelcoming.dark and dismal fits
- Reject the other choices. A bright, cheerful room would not need a torch, and a noisy one would not feel gloomy.bright and cheerful and noisy and busy do not fit
- Write the answer. dark and dismal
Check. dark and dismal fits the sentence. ✓
Method. Use the clues around the word.
- Find the word in the text. Frail is used about a chair.a frail chair leaned against the wall
- Look at the clue. Its legs are wobbly with age, so it is not strong.legs wobbly with age
- Work out the meaning. A chair with wobbly legs is weak and could break easily.weak and easily broken
- Write the answer. weak and easily broken
Check. Weak and easily broken fits both clues. ✓
Method. Use the clue in the next sentence.
- Find the sentence. Something glimmered in one corner.something glimmered
- Look at the next sentence. Nadia crept closer to see it, so the light must have been faint.Nadia crept closer
- Work out the meaning. A faint, small light is how something glimmers.shone faintly
- Write the answer. shone faintly
Check. Shone faintly fits the clues. ✓
Method. Test each choice against the sentence and the text.
- Read the sentence with the word in it. Decide what the sentence needs.
- Test the choice in the sentence. A surge is a strong, sudden rush, and here it is a rush of pride.a sudden rush fits
- Reject the other choices. Doubt and a loud noise do not fit a feeling of pride.a slow feeling of doubt and a loud noise do not fit
- Write the answer. a sudden rush
Check. a sudden rush fits the sentence. ✓
Method. Find the fact that the text states.
- Find the words that answer the question. Scan the text for the detail the question asks about.the air felt stale
- Check that the fact is stated, not guessed. Stale means old and not fresh, and the text uses it about the air.stale
- Write the answer. stale
Check. The text states this fact. ✓
Method. Find the fact that the text states.
- Find the words that answer the question. Scan the text for the detail the question asks about.as sweet as honey
- Check that the fact is stated, not guessed. A simile compares two things using as or like. This one compares the melody with honey.as sweet as honey
- Write the answer. as sweet as honey
Check. The text states this fact. ✓
Method. Compare the shade of the two words.
- Look at the word crept. Crept means moving slowly and quietly.Nadia crept closer
- Look at the word stomped. Stomped means walking heavily, so it is loud.loud and heavy
- Describe the change. The reader would hear loud steps, not quiet ones.loudly and heavily
- Write the answer. loudly and heavily
Check. Stomped gives a loud, heavy picture. ✓
Method. Find the fact that the text states.
- Find the words that answer the question. Scan the text for the detail the question asks about.The wind whispered through the trees
- Check that the fact is stated, not guessed. Whispering is something people do, so the word gives the wind a human action.whispered
- Write the answer. whispered
Check. The text states this fact. ✓
Watch out. The wind cannot whisper. A word that gives a non-human thing a human action is personification.
Method. Test each choice against the sentence and the text.
- Read the sentence with the word in it. Decide what the sentence needs.
- Test the choice in the sentence. It says the classroom is a zoo, without using like or as.metaphor fits
- Reject the other choices. A simile needs like or as, and this sentence has neither.simile do not fit
- Write the answer. metaphor
Check. metaphor fits the sentence. ✓
Method. Compare the two words.
- Compare the two words. Dark only says there is little light.dark = little light
- Look at what gloomy adds. Gloomy also suggests a sad or unwelcoming place.gloomy = dark and sad
- Link it to the text. The stale air makes the attic feel unwelcoming too.the air felt stale
- Write the answer. it suggests the attic is dark and sad, not just dim
Check. Gloomy adds a feeling as well as a lack of light. ✓
Method. Choose the person, then add frail before the noun.
- Choose the person. Frail describes a person who is weak.an old man
- Add the word frail. Put frail before the noun it describes.The frail old man
- Finish the sentence. Add a verb and a detail to make a full sentence.walked slowly to the bench
- Write the answer. The frail old man walked slowly to the bench.
Check. The sentence makes sense and frail describes the person. ✓