These words are words you know BUT they have meanings at you need to know both meanings.
The list below contains a number of very common words, along with their less common definitions. Ones that have shown up on recent SATs are marked with an asterisk. You shouldn't go crazy over these because the SAT is far more likely to test words like trite, paradigm, multifarious, and esoteric, but you should keep them in mind.
Affect/Affected (n., adj.) - Artificial or pretentious behavior
*Alien (adj.) - Unfamiliar, foreign
Badger (v.) - To bother, question repeatedly
*Bent (n.) - A liking or talent for (syn: predilection, proclivity, penchant). The SAT really likes this one!
*Bridge (v.) - To join two things together
*Buffet (v.) - To toss around (e.g. the ship was buffeted by high winds)
*Carp (v.) - To complain
Cave (v.) - To give in, acquiesce
Constitution (n.) - The physical character, health of a body
Crop (v.) - To cut short
*Elliptical (adj.) - Indirect, vague
*Embroider (v.) - To elaborate or exaggerate
Flag (v.) - To diminish
Floor (v) - To shock or stun
Grate (v.) - To have an irritating effect
*Grave/Gravity (adj.) - Serious
Grill (v.) - To question intensively
*Hail (v.) - To proclaim enthusiastically
Lumber (v.) - To move heavily or clumsily, especially with great bulk
*Mint (n., v.) - A factory where money is produced / To produce money
Milk (v.) - To attempt to get recognition or applause (e.g. to milk an audience)
*Modest (adj.) - Simple, unadorned
*Pedestrian (adj.) - Dull, unoriginal
*Police (v.) - To regulate, control
*Pore (n.) - To read over or study with great attention
*Qualify (v.) - To modify or soften the severity of a statement
Rail (v.) - To complain about or denounce bitterly
Rank (adj.) - Having an offensively strong or unclean odor
Rake (n.) - A dissolute man, womanizer
Root (v.) - To rummage around, search
*Severe (adj.) - Austere, rigid
Slight (v.) - To insult, put down
Spare (adj.) - Simple, undecorated
Staple (n.) - A fundamental (e.g. staple crop)
Stem (v.) - To put a stop to
*Subscribe (v.) - To believe in
Sustain (v.) - To withstand
Temper: (v.) to lessen, relax.
