Substituting several smaller words for one larger word can help you remember the meaning of the larger word. This tactic is most useful when you've just encountered a confusing word and can't recall the meaning. The strategy here is to break the word down into smaller components. For example, if you want to remember the word "ambivalent," break it down into "ambi" and "valent." If you know any other words that use the "ambi" root (e.g. ambiguous), you'll know that "ambi" means "multiple." If you've studied any chemistry, you'll know that "valence" refers to the "attraction" of outer electrons to other electrons. The combination of "ambi" (multiple) and "valence" (attraction) can give you a pretty close approximation of the real definition: mixed feelings.
Association is a mnemonic device that involves associating an unfamiliar word with a similar sounding (but more common) word or phrase. For example, if you are trying to remember the word "bludgeon," you could just remember that the first syllable of the word sounds like "blood" and that a bludgeoned person can bleed from their wounds. Say these kinds of associations out loud repeatedly, and you will eventually start to make the association naturally when you hear the confusing word.
Rhyming a confusing word with other words can help you to remember the confusing word's meaning. For example, if you are trying to improve your recall of the word "differentiation" (in the context of management), you can come up with a simple rhyme like "differentiation is performance separation." The use of rhyme in this truncated definition will help you to remember that when you use the differentiation strategy, you separate employees into categories based on their performance.
The Method of Loci is an advanced technique that will require a little imagination and effort on your part. When you use the Method of Loci, you imagine yourself walking down a path in the forest, picking up things along the way. The things you pick up along the way are aspects of the thing you need to remember, be they letters of a word or numbers in an equation. For confusing words, what you pick up along the path are letters in the confusing word; however, as you imagine yourself picking up these letters, you also need to associate them with part of the word's definition. For example, for the word "lithe," you could say "the first letter I pick up on the trail is 'L' for leg flexibility."