The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words

Context is king -- that’s the lesson you need to internalize as you begin preparing for the vocabulary questions on the new SAT. We have identified this pool of 200 words that cut across the disciplines and lend themselves well to context-dependent interpretation. As you learn this list on Vocabulary.com, you will have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in particular sentences. This is the same type of thinking you will need to develop in order to succeed on the new SAT!

Here are all of our word lists to help you prepare for the new SAT (debuting March of 2016): The Language of the Test, Multiple-Meaning Words, and Words to Capture Tone.
200 words 12470 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. absolute
    perfect or complete or pure
  2. absorb
    take in a liquid
  3. accept
    receive willingly something given or offered
  4. account
    a record or narrative description of past events
  5. active
    characterized by energetic movement
  6. acute
    ending in a sharp point
  7. address
    the place where a person or organization can be found
  8. advance
    move forward
  9. affect
    have an influence upon
  10. agitate
    move or cause to move back and forth
  11. anticipate
    regard something as probable or likely
  12. apparent
    clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
  13. application
    the action of putting something into operation
  14. arise
    move upward
  15. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
  16. awkward
    lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance
  17. base
    lowest support of a structure
  18. bearing
    characteristic way of holding one's body
  19. bind
    secure with or as if with ropes
  20. blast
    a sudden, loud sound
  21. bleak
    unpleasantly cold and damp
  22. blunt
    not sharp (used of a knife or other blade)
  23. bolt
    a screw that screws into a nut to form a fastener
  24. bond
    a connection that fastens things together
  25. bother
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
  26. bound
    confined by bonds
  27. buckle
    fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap
  28. casual
    without or seeming to be without plan or method; offhand
  29. center
    an area that is in the middle of some larger region
  30. channel
    a deep and relatively narrow body of water
  31. character
    a property that defines the individual nature of something
  32. charm
    attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
  33. claim
    assert or affirm strongly
  34. clap
    strike one's hands together
  35. cleave
    separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
  36. clip
    a small fastener used to hold loose articles together
  37. command
    an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
  38. commission
    the act of granting authority to undertake certain functions
  39. commit
    engage in or perform
  40. complete
    having all necessary qualities
  41. compose
    form the substance of
  42. compound
    a whole formed by a union of two or more elements or parts
  43. concentration
    the spatial property of being crowded together
  44. condition
    a mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing
  45. connect
    fasten or put together two or more pieces
  46. contain
    hold or have within
  47. convert
    change the nature, purpose, or function of something
  48. core
    the center of an object
  49. court
    an assembly to conduct judicial business
  50. crash
    break violently or noisily
  51. credit
    an estimate of ability to fulfill financial commitments
  52. critical
    of a serious examination and judgment of something
  53. cross
    a marking that consists of lines that intersect each other
  54. crude
    belonging to an early stage of technical development
  55. cultivate
    adapt something wild to the environment
  56. curious
    eager to investigate and learn or learn more
  57. decline
    grow worse
  58. defend
    protect against a challenge or attack
  59. delicacy
    the quality of being exquisitely fine in appearance
  60. deliver
    bring to a destination
  61. delivery
    voluntary transfer of something from one party to another
  62. depart
    go away or leave
  63. dependent
    a person who relies on another person for support
  64. depress
    push down
  65. desolate
    providing no shelter or sustenance
  66. determine
    find out or learn with certainty, as by making an inquiry
  67. development
    a process in which something passes to a different stage
  68. difference
    the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
  69. digest
    convert food into absorbable substances
  70. dim
    lacking in light; not bright or harsh
  71. direction
    a line leading to a place or point
  72. discharge
    remove the unbalanced electricity from
  73. discipline
    a system of rules of conduct or method of practice
  74. dissolve
    pass into a solution
  75. dominant
    most frequent or common
  76. draft
    a current of air
  77. dull
    so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
  78. emit
    give off, send forth, or discharge
  79. examination
    the act of scrutinizing something closely (as for mistakes)
  80. execute
    put in effect
  81. expose
    make visible or apparent
  82. exposure
    the state of being exposed to harm
  83. expression
    the communication of your beliefs or opinions
  84. extension
    act of expanding in scope
  85. faith
    complete confidence in a person or plan, etc.
  86. fallen
    having dropped by the force of gravity
  87. figure
    alternate name for the body of a human being
  88. forge
    create by hammering
  89. formula
    a group of symbols that make a mathematical statement
  90. fortune
    your overall circumstances or condition in life
  91. foundation
    the basis on which something is grounded
  92. fresh
    recently made, produced, or harvested
  93. generation
    group of genetically related organisms in a line of descent
  94. grace
    elegance and beauty of movement or expression
  95. grievous
    causing or marked by grief or anguish
  96. grim
    harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance
  97. grind
    reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading
  98. hearty
    showing warm and sincere friendliness
  99. heave
    lift or elevate
  100. host
    a person who invites guests to a social event
  101. image
    a visual representation produced on a surface
  102. impertinent
    improperly forward or bold
  103. insensible
    barely able to be perceived
  104. intense
    possessing a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
  105. invest
    lay out money or resources in an enterprise
  106. involve
    contain as a part
  107. issue
    some situation or event that is thought about
  108. lapse
    drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards
  109. launch
    propel with force
  110. level
    a relative position or degree of value in a graded group
  111. margin
    the boundary line or area immediately inside the boundary
  112. mass
    the property of a body that causes it to have weight
  113. medium
    the surrounding environment
  114. model
    a representation of something, often on a smaller scale
  115. mount
    go up, advance, or increase
  116. nasty
    offensive or even (of persons) malicious
  117. neutral
    having no personal preference
  118. obscure
    not clearly understood or expressed
  119. observe
    watch attentively
  120. occupy
    live in (a certain place)
  121. passage
    the act of moving from one state or place to the next
  122. patch
    a small contrasting part of something
  123. pattern
    a repeated design, structure, or arrangement
  124. pitch
    the high or low quality of a sound
  125. plane
    an unbounded two-dimensional shape
  126. plot
    a small area of ground covered by specific vegetation
  127. pose
    assume a bearing as for artistic purposes
  128. positive
    characterized by or displaying affirmation or acceptance
  129. precipitate
    bring about abruptly
  130. process
    a particular course of action intended to achieve a result
  131. project
    a planned undertaking
  132. provide
    give something useful or necessary to
  133. raise
    move upwards
  134. range
    a variety of different things or activities
  135. raw
    not treated with heat to prepare it for eating
  136. recognition
    identifying something or someone by remembering
  137. recognize
    perceive to be something or something you can identify
  138. reflection
    the phenomenon of a wave being thrown back from a surface
  139. register
    an official written record of names or events
  140. relation
    the state or quality of having something in common
  141. release
    grant freedom to; free from confinement
  142. relief
    the act of reducing something unpleasant
  143. render
    give or supply
  144. renounce
    turn away from; give up
  145. represent
    be a delegate or spokesperson for
  146. resolution
    a decision to do something or to behave in a certain manner
  147. response
    the speech act of continuing a conversational exchange
  148. review
    look at again; examine again
  149. right
    free from error; especially conforming to fact or truth
  150. ripe
    fully developed or matured and ready to be eaten or used
  151. sanction
    official permission or approval
  152. scale
    an ordered reference standard
  153. scan
    examine minutely or intensely
  154. scratch
    cut, scrape, or wear away the surface of
  155. scrupulous
    characterized by extreme care and great effort
  156. secure
    free from danger or risk
  157. sensitive
    responsive to physical stimuli
  158. serious
    of great consequence
  159. service
    an act of help or assistance
  160. settle
    become resolved, fixed, established, or quiet
  161. severe
    very harsh or strict, especially when dealing with others
  162. shaft
    a long rod or pole, especially the body of a weapon
  163. sheer
    so thin as to transmit light
  164. shine
    emit light; be bright, as of the sun or a light
  165. sight
    the ability to see; the visual faculty
  166. simple
    having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved
  167. situation
    physical position in relation to the surroundings
  168. slack
    not tense or taut
  169. smother
    deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing
  170. solid
    not soft or yielding to pressure
  171. sound
    mechanical vibrations transmitted by an elastic medium
  172. source
    the place where something begins
  173. split
    separate into parts or portions
  174. stall
    a small area set off for special use
  175. state
    the way something is with respect to its main attributes
  176. store
    a mercantile establishment for the sale of goods or services
  177. straight
    having no deviations
  178. stroke
    a single complete movement
  179. style
    how something is done or how it happens
  180. subdued
    restrained in style or quality
  181. subject
    some situation or event that is thought about
  182. substantial
    real; having a material or factual existence
  183. suffer
    undergo or be subjected to
  184. support
    the act of bearing the weight of or strengthening
  185. suspend
    bar temporarily
  186. swallow
    pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking
  187. tender
    easy to cut or chew
  188. term
    a limited period of time during which something lasts
  189. thin
    of relatively small extent from one surface to the opposite
  190. throw
    propel through the air
  191. tone
    the distinctive property of a complex sound
  192. trace
    an indication that something has been present
  193. trade
    the commercial exchange of goods and services
  194. transparent
    able to be seen through with clarity
  195. upset
    cause to lose one's composure
  196. venture
    an undertaking with an uncertain outcome
  197. wake
    stop sleeping
  198. waver
    pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
  199. weigh
    have a certain heft
  200. withdraw
    pull back or move away or backward
Created on Mon Oct 19 16:25:58 EDT 2015 (updated Tue Dec 15 12:57:27 EST 2015)

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