Firstly, look at the root of a word, like pre, it often means before. There are many roots in english, including latin roots and greek roots, if you know most of them, then your answer must be correct.
Secondly, look at how a word ends, like ing, it means action, doing something. So looking at how it ends usually helps.
If you don't know, make a logical guess is a thing that helps too. You might be right!
