IXL | Use context to identify the meaning of a word

Read the passage and then answer the question.

Every spring on the beaches of Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland, the horseshoe crabs gather. Crowds of them make nests on the beach, and the females lay their eggs. Soon the crabs are joined by a multitude of shorebirds. Thousands of birds stop at these beaches each year. The birds stuff themselves with small green horseshoe crab eggs. The birds depend on these eggs to get enough energy for the long flight ahead. Many of them are flying from South America to the Arctic. Scientists say that this gathering of crabs and birds has been occurring for thousands of years.

What is the meaning of multitude as used in the passage?

average amount

great number

peaceful family

small flock

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Learn with an example

question

Read the passage and then answer the question.

Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa is famous because of a mistake. It was built on earth that wasn't stable enough to hold it straight. Soon after building began in 1173, the tower started leaning. The work stopped even though the building wasn't complete. A new engineer came in almost one hundred years later. He tried building the stories higher on one side to fix the tower, but his plan didn't work. Still leaning, the building was completed in 1372. The leaning got worse over hundreds of years. In 1990, the tower was closed so engineers could reinforce the tower. Steel cables were wrapped around the tower, and the tower's base was improved. Now slightly straighter, the tower is safe and open again for visitors.

What is the meaning of reinforce as used in the passage?

make something stronger by adding support

slide down a small hill rapidly

make something more beautiful by painting it

take a short rest break from a building project

key idea

If you don't know the meaning of a word, you can look for context clues. Context clues are nearby words and phrases that help you figure out the meaning of an unknown word.

Here are some examples:

Janet's dog punctured her ball with his teeth, causing it to go flat.

You can guess that punctured means "made a hole in."

She had a map, so she offered to be the trip's navigator.

You can guess that a navigator is someone who gives directions on a journey.

The guard closely monitored the building. He was on the lookout for anything that seemed out of place.

You can guess that monitored means "watched."

solution

As used in the passage, reinforce means make something stronger by adding support.

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GG.2Determine the meaning of words using synonyms in context

GG.1Find words using context

MM.2Use context to identify the meaning of a word

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