Context-based science education (CBSE) has played a central role in re-orienting scientific literacy for all students. However, the notion of addressing ‘all students’ has not yet been explicitly related to the demands of diversity-equity-inclusion (DEI). This study aims to deduce the potential of context-based teaching and learning for DEI with the goal of making science education more accessible for everybody. To this end, a systematic literature review was conducted to investigate which different functions are attributed to contexts in primary and secondary science education and what different understandings of context can be delineated. Categories were inductively derived from the analysis of 101 peer-reviewed journal papers. Seven functions and eight understandings of context were identified, and their interrelations are shown. We discuss, with regard to different visions of scientific literacy, how different understandings and functions of contexts can promote DEI. Our discussion implies that the greatest potential lies in the combination of different understandings and functions of context. Rather than striving for one precise definition, teachers and teacher educators should be aware of the variety of access points that CBSE can offer for a wider variety of students.