Context Clues

​Context clues are hints to the meaning of a difficult word. These hints can be in the same sentence or in the sentences before or after the sentence that uses the difficult word.

​As you read the story, pay attention to the underlined words, and any hints you might find about the meanings of these words.

​You can’t see it, but the water cycle is always in motion on the earth. This series of events goes round and round, again and again, providing clean, fresh water for the land and seas. As water goes through this cycle, it is sometimes solid ice, sometimes liquid water, and sometimes a gas called water vapor.

​The energy that drives the water cycle is heat. When heat is added to ice, the ice melts into water. When heat is added to water, it evaporates, turning from liquid into gas. When heat is taken away from water vapor, it condenses, turning from gas into liquid. When heat is taken away from water, it freezes, turning from liquid to solid.

​The heat from the sun warms the water in oceans and rivers. The water changes into water vapor that rises into the air. High above the earth, the water vapor cools and becomes tiny particles of water that create clouds. As the clouds gather more and more particles of water, the water falls as rain or snow, which are two forms of precipitation. This precipitation is absorbed in the ground or is added to the water in oceans, lakes, and rivers. The cycle is always, constantly, in process, everywhere in the world.

​Credit K-5 Worksheets