Hyperbole, puns, oxymorons and sound words

Grade 6 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Sentence

   After the field trip, the backpack weighed a million pounds.
   Figure card: Hyperbole stretches the truth on purpose. An oxymoron puts two opposite words together. Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like its noise. A pun plays on a word with two meanings.

2. 1.

   Tala reads the sentence and the figure card. Which choice names the figure and tells why?

   • pun: “pounds” can mean weight or money, so the sentence is a joke
   • onomatopoeia: “weighed” sounds like a heavy thud
   • hyperbole: no backpack weighs a million pounds
   • oxymoron: a backpack is small, but “million” is a huge number

3. Sentence

   The art table was an organized mess.
   Figure card: Hyperbole stretches the truth on purpose. An oxymoron puts two opposite words together. Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like its noise. A pun plays on a word with two meanings.

4. 2.

   Bo reads the sentence and the figure card. Which choice names the figure and tells why?

   • oxymoron: “organized” and “mess” are opposite words side by side
   • hyperbole: the table is messier than any table could be
   • pun: “mess” can mean a dirty place or a meal hall, so it is a joke
   • onomatopoeia: “mess” sounds like the noise of spilled paint

5. Sentence

   Why was the math book sad? It had too many problems.
   Figure card: Hyperbole stretches the truth on purpose. An oxymoron puts two opposite words together. Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like its noise. A pun plays on a word with two meanings.

6. 3.

   Noah reads the sentence and the figure card. Which choice names the figure and tells why?

   • oxymoron: “sad” and “problems” are opposite words
   • onomatopoeia: “problems” sounds like a noise
   • pun: “problems” means math questions and also troubles
   • hyperbole: a book cannot have that many problems
7. 4.

   The line for the slide was a mile long. Esme reads the sentence. Which choice tells what it means in plain words?

   • the kids gave up and went home
   • the line really stretched for one mile
   • the slide was a popular ride at the park
   • the line was very long
8. 5.

   The soup pot went blub, blub, blub on the stove. Luz reads the sentence. Which choice tells what it means in plain words?

   • the pot was sitting on the stove
   • the soup made a bubbling noise in the pot
   • the pot said the word blub out loud
   • the soup was about to spill over the pot
9. 6.

   Why did the cloud stay home? It was under the weather. Pia reads the joke. Which choice tells what it means in plain words?

   • the cloud hid underneath a rainstorm
   • the cloud was too hurt to move
   • the cloud stayed home instead of going out
   • the cloud felt sick, and the words also fit a cloud in the weather
10. 7.

    Before lunch, the long math sheet on the desk had a thousand questions. Zee marks the clue. Which part of the sentence is the hyperbole?

    • had a thousand questions
    • the long math sheet
    • Before lunch
    • on the desk
11. 8.

    In the hall, the crowd gave a loud whisper before the show. Ari marks the clue. Which part of the sentence is the oxymoron?

    • before the show
    • the crowd gave
    • a loud whisper
    • In the hall
12. 9.

    The old gate creaked open at sunrise. Ren marks the clue. Which part of the sentence is the onomatopoeia?

    • at sunrise
    • creaked
    • open
    • The old gate
13. 10.

    On a roll that morning, the bakery sold out of buns. Jun marks the clue. Which part of the sentence is the pun?

    • sold out of buns
    • On a roll
    • that morning
    • the bakery