You can often tell what a word means by its sentence?

That's a great observation! You're absolutely right. We often use context clues within a sentence to figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word. This is called deducing meaning from context.

Here's how it works:

* Surrounding words: The words around the unfamiliar word can give us hints about its meaning. For example, if you see "The garrulous woman talked non-stop," you can infer that "garrulous" means "talkative" because of the phrase "talked non-stop."

* Sentence structure: The way a sentence is constructed can also provide clues. For instance, if a word is used as a noun, it likely refers to a person, place, or thing.

* General knowledge: Sometimes, our existing knowledge about the world helps us understand unfamiliar words. If you read "The astronaut walked on the moon," you already know that astronauts travel to space, so you can deduce that "astronaut" refers to a person who travels to space.

However, there are limitations to this approach:

* Ambiguity: Some words have multiple meanings, and context might not always be enough to determine the intended meaning.

* Figurative language: When authors use metaphors, similes, or other figurative language, the meaning of a word might not be literal.

* Technical jargon: Specialized vocabulary used in specific fields can be difficult to understand even with context.

Overall, using context clues is a valuable skill for understanding unfamiliar words. It's a great way to expand your vocabulary and improve your reading comprehension.