1类属法
即通过类属来推测词义。如：
 Bananas, oranges, pineapples, coconuts and some other kinds of fruit grow in warm areas.
说明：从句意我们知道pineapples 和coconuts 与bananas, oranges是同类事物，同属水果(准确地说是“菠萝”和“椰子”)。

2推理法
即根据文章的前后语境推出生词的词义。如：
■That museum is so immense that it will be impossible to see all the exhibits in one day.
说明：既然一天之内看不完所有的展品，那么immense 的意思应该是“很大”了。
Everyone agreed that the woman in the photo was gorgeous. It was easy to see why she had won the beauty contest.
说明：既然“她在选美比赛中获胜”，说明她“很美丽”(gorgeous)。
3列举法
即通过对文章所列举的事物来猜测生词的词义。如：
■Children like such creatures as dogs and monkeys.
说明：像 dogs 和 monkeys 之类的“creatures”，显然creatures的意思应是“动物”。
In your spare time, you may look through any of these periodicals: Time Magazine, NewsWeek, or The New Worker.
说明：periodical是生词，但根据其后所列举的例子，我们可以推测出它的意思可能是“期刊”或“杂志”。
4构词法
即根据前缀、后缀、复合、派生等构词知识判断生词的词义。如：
■Overwork may cause diseases.
说明：前缀 over- 的意思是“过分的，过量的”，故 overwork的意思应为“工作过度”。
There was a dissatisfied look in the manager’s eyes.
说明：satisfied的意思是“满意的”，前缀 dis- 的意思是“不”，故dissatisfied 的意思应该是“不满意的”。
5对比法
即根据文章前后的对比关系确定生词的词义。如：
He had been getting better, but during the night his condition deteriorated .
说明：句中的 but 表明deteriorate 应该与get better 的意思相反，即“恶化”。
In many countries there are two financial extremes, from penury to great wealth.
说明：上文说两个经济上的极端，那么下文中penury 应与great wealth 相对，即表示“贫困”。
Mrs.Smith is loquacious while her husband is the silent type.
说明：while 表对比，意为“而”，所以loquacious 应是silent 的反义，即“多嘴的”。
If you agree, draw a circle; and a cross if you dissent.
说明：既然画圈表示同意，那么画叉便是“不同意”(dissent)。
6同位法
同位语是对所修饰词语的进一步说明和解释，若对所修饰的词语不熟悉，可通过其后同位语的“说明或解释”来确定其词义。如：
His father is an expert in phonetics, the study of the sounds of language.
说明：同位语 the study of the sounds of language 表示 phonetics 的意思应该是“语音学”。
Jean was born with spinabifida, a birth illness that damages the spine(脊骨).
说明：同位语 a birth illness that damages the spine 表明了spinabifida 是一种病，一种对脊骨有损害的病。
7释义法
即根据文章中所提供的释义关系来确定生词的词义。如：
They described him as a loon, or a mad man.
说明：句中的or 是对loon的解释，即loon与a mad man同义，即表示“疯子”。
It willbe very hard but also very brittle, that is, it will break easily.
说明：句中的 that is 表明 it will break easily 是对brittle 的解释，从而猜测出其意为“脆”。
■The herdsman, who looks after sheep, earns about 500 yuan a year.
说明：定语从句 who looks after sheep 表明herdsman 的词义为“牧人”。
There are three kinds of snow. One kind is a fluffy snow that is somewhat dry and feathery?
说明：定语从句 that is somewhat dry and feathery(有点儿干、像羽毛似的)表明 fluffy now 的意思可能是“鹅毛大雪”。
8常识法
即根据普通常识推测生词的词义。如：
It’s said that Bill Gates is the most affluent person in the world.
说明：根据常识，BillGates 为世界首富，所以affluent 可能是“富有的”。
As a scientist, Edison is very famous for his contrivances.
说明：根据常识，Edison为发明大王，他应因“发明”而闻名于世。