When I read a book in English, I always keep a dictionary near me. If I do not know the meaning of a world, I open the dictionary and find the word. The dictionary always tells me the meaning of the new word. If it is a good dictionary, it also gives me or two sentences as examples of the word in everyday use. Often a word has more than one shade of meaning, and I choose the one most suited to the context. I also look carefully at the pronunciation guide to find the out how the word is spoken.