Much of what we understand whether when listening or reading we understand indirectly, by inference. Listening involves a complex combination of hearing words, analyzing sentence structure, and attempting to find meaning within the context of the given situation. The situation with the written word is no different. A text does not contain a meaning. Readers construct meaning by what they take the words to mean and how they process sentences to find meaning.
Readers draw on their knowledge of the language and of conventions of social communication.
They infer unstated meanings based on social conventions, shared knowledge, shared experience, or shared values. They make sense of remarks by recognizing implications and drawing conclusions. Readers read ideas more than words, and infer, rather than find, meaning. The Senator admitted owning the gun that killed his wife. On the face of it, we have a simple statement about what someone said.