In a context clues crossword puzzle, the teacher writes sentences on the left top side of the paper, underlining one word. On the top right side, she writes a list of words that can correctly replace the underlined words. Students must match the underlined word on the left side to the correct word on the right side and fill in the boxes on the crossword puzzle.
A context clues war game can be played in small groups. This game can be created on the computer or chalkboard. The teacher should write out sentences, underlining one word in each sentence, then make a set of four flashcards per sentence. On each flashcard, write a word, with only one word being correct. The student, who finds the word flashcard that means the same as the underlined word in the sentence, keeps the flashcard. The student with the most flashcards wins.
"Context Clues Bingo" is a whole-class game. The teacher passes out bingo cards with the boxes filled with words and bingo chips. She then reads a sentence aloud and specifies a word in the sentence. Students check to see if they have a word on their bingo chart that can replace the word in the sentence. If so, they put a bingo chip in the word box. The first student to fill up a row vertically or horizontally wins.
"Context Clues Jeopardy" is a more challenging whole-class game. This game can be created on the computer or chalkboard. The teacher writes point amounts across the top and sentences under each point column. Each sentence should contain an underlined word. Groups take turns picking a sentence. After reading the sentence, the group has to come up with another word that means the same as the underlined word. If the group is able to do this, they earn the points. The group with the most points wins.