ACT: Multiple-Meaning Words: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 12

On the ACT Reading Test, you'll encounter questions that ask you to determine the meanings of common words in context. We've identified 200 high-frequency, multiple-meaning words of the sort that you'll see on the exam. As you practice this list, you'll have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in a particular sentence. Be careful! Several of a word's meanings might show up as answer choices — but only one answer will capture the meaning of the word in the context of the sentence.
12 words 189 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. scratch
    cut, scrape, or wear away the surface of
  2. compound
    a whole formed by a union of two or more elements or parts
  3. pattern
    a repeated design, structure, or arrangement
  4. recognize
    perceive to be something or something you can identify
  5. waver
    pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
  6. state
    the way something is with respect to its main attributes
  7. absolute
    perfect or complete or pure
  8. arise
    move upward
  9. buckle
    fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap
  10. scale
    an ordered reference standard
  11. subdued
    restrained in style or quality
  12. dissolve
    pass into a solution
Created on Fri Jun 06 12:03:43 EDT 2025

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