CURRICULUM
GUIDES
CONSERVATION
CORNER
LADWP
CONSERVATION TIPS
eNEWSPAPER
CORPORATE
SPONSORS
WEEKLY
LESSONS
RESOURCES
CONTESTS

Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

PLOY

DEFINITION:
A cunning plan or action designed to turn a situation to one's own advantage.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
“First of all, I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling,” said the 44th president, conceding that it does serve as an effective distraction and ploy for attention.
►The Boston Herald, 02/16/2026

Generate your own quiz
Select a grade level
 Elementary
 Middle School
 High School
Select a quiz type
 By words
 By Definitions
Select how many questions
5   10   15   20  

Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words

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. Omnivore

► Harmful, malevolent, injurious. Harmfully cancerous.

► An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land; a tableland.

► One that takes in everything available, as with the mind.

► A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms.

2. Eclectic

► A disorderly commotion or disturbance.

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

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

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

3. Inference

► The act of reasoning from factual knowledge or evidence.

► Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar.

► An ammunition belt, worn over the shoulder, having loops or pockets for cartridges.

► Any of various nonplacental mammals, including kangaroos, opossums, bandicoots, and wombats, found principally in Australia and the Americas.

4. Metaphor

► One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.

► A movement or procedure involving skill and dexterity.

► The act of resting or the state of being at rest.

► Consuming or eager to consume great amounts of food; ravenous.

5. Polygon

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

► A closed plane figure bounded by three or more line segments.

► The distribution of energy emitted by a radiant source, arranged in order of wavelengths.

► The drawing of a conclusion by reasoning; the act of deducing.

Get more Quizzes 

 Elementary School    Middle School   High School  

 By Word     By Definition    5  10  15  20 Questions

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.

Additional Resources

Lessons & Classroom Activities

Resources by grade level