TIE | The Los Angeles Times in Education

Click on the correct answer in the quiz below.
Then see if you can find the word in your newspaper -- the print edition, the website or the digital edition and copy the sentence for context. NOTE: High School words are much harder to find!

1. Mutation

► An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.

► Either of two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator.

► Any of various relatively small sailing or motor-driven vessels used for pleasure cruises or racing.

► The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

2. Tranquility

► To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.

► The quality or state of being tranquil; serenity.

► Not subject to an obligation imposed on others; exempt.

► Sharing the same opinions or views; being in complete harmony or accord.

3. Tariff

► A schedule of prices or fees.

► A diffuse mass of interstellar dust or gas or both, visible as luminous patches or areas of darkness

► To stress or emphasize; intensify

► Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

4. Eclectic

► Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles

► In a deplorable state of distress or misfortune; miserable.

► The science and art of using all the forces of a nation to execute approved plans as effectively as possible during peace or war.

► A person authorized to act as representative for another; a deputy.

5. Labyrinth

► The science and art of using all the forces of a nation to execute approved plans as effectively as possible during peace or war.

► A person authorized to act as representative for another; a deputy.

► A prohibition by a government on certain or all trade with a foreign nation

► An intricate structure of interconnecting passages through which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze.

Common Core State Standard
LS.CCS.4/5/6 Grades 3-12: Students are asked to determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words through multiple choice vocabulary quizzes. Quizzes are designed to help students demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in words, acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words, and gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. Students are then asked to find the words within the newspaper and copy the sentence for context to its overall meaning or function in a sentence.

CONDUIT

Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words

CONDUIT
DEFINITION: A means of transmitting or distributing.	FOUND IN THE NEWS: It’s the only conduit for those without a direct relationship with Banksy to reach out to the artist, whose identity has never been confirmed. ►The Tampa Bay Times, 08/03/2026

CONDUIT

Words in the News Quiz5 Middle School Words

Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words