A novel approach to performing context discovery in ad-hoc networks based on the use of attenuated Bloom filters is proposed in this paper. A Bloom filter is an efficient space-saving data structure to represent context information. Attenuated Bloom filters are used to advertise the availability of context information multiple hops away, and to guide queries to discover it. In order to investigate the performance of this approach, a model has been developed. This paper describes the model and its validation. From the results obtained with the model, using attenuated Bloom filters appear to be a very promising approach for context discovery in ad hoc networks. Compared to conventional solutions, the traffic load of our approach is an order of magnitude lower in practical situations.