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?

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

   • pun: “problems” means math questions and also troubles
   • oxymoron: “sad” and “problems” are opposite words
   • onomatopoeia: “problems” sounds like a noise
   • 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 slide was a popular ride at the park
   • the line really stretched for one mile
   • the kids gave up and went home
   • the line was very long
8. 5.

   The class trip to the museum was a working vacation. Kira reads the sentence. Which choice tells what it means in plain words?

   • the class went on a trip to the museum
   • the museum paid the students to work for a week
   • the trip was fun but also had some schoolwork
   • the trip was ruined by too much schoolwork
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 stayed home instead of going out
   • the cloud felt sick, and the words also fit a cloud in the weather
   • the cloud hid underneath a rainstorm
   • the cloud was too hurt to move
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
    • on the desk
    • Before lunch
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?

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

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

    • The old gate
    • creaked
    • open
    • at sunrise
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?

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