Hyperbole Worksheets

Print worksheet gives 6 sentences: circle hyperbole or literal, or what the exaggeration really means.

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Add a "Name" and "Date" line at the top Add an answer key as the last page

All 155 sentences

Hyperbole or literal? 100

The car was so slow that a truck passed us.
The car was so slow that snails passed us.
The cat sleeps a hundred hours a day.
The cat sleeps most of the day.
He is so forgetful he lost his lunch box twice.
He is so forgetful he would lose his own shadow.
He runs faster than his older brother.
He runs faster than the speed of light.
Her bag is big enough to hold a house.
Her bag is big enough to hold a laptop.
Her new puppy has enough energy to play all afternoon.
Her new puppy has enough energy to power a city.
Her smile showed her new braces.
Her smile was a mile wide.
I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
I am so hungry I could eat two sandwiches.
I am so thirsty I could drink the whole lake.
I am so thirsty I could drink two glasses of water.
I have a million things to do today.
I have a ton of homework tonight.
I have been standing here for nine hundred years.
I have been standing here for nine minutes.
I have four things to do today.

Show all 155 sentences (132 more)

Hyperbole or literal?, continued

I have read this book four times.
I have read this book ten thousand times.
I have told you a million times to shut the gate.
I have told you three times to shut the gate.
I have two pages of homework tonight.
I laughed so hard I got the hiccups.
I laughed so hard I shook the whole house.
I ran so fast I won the race.
I ran so fast my shoes caught fire.
I was so tired I could have slept for a year.
I was so tired I slept until ten.
I will love this song until the end of time.
I will play this song again after dinner.
It rained enough to fill the bucket.
It rained enough to fill the ocean twice.
It took him a full minute to tie his shoes.
It took him forever and a day to tie his shoes.
It was so cold that my words froze in the air.
It was so cold that the birdbath froze.
The laundry pile is taller than a mountain.
The laundry pile is taller than the basket.
The math problem took me all eternity.
The math problem took me ten minutes.
The mosquitoes at the lake came out at dusk.
The mosquitoes at the lake were the size of airplanes.
My brother eats more than a herd of elephants.
My brother eats more than I do.
My cousin has every toy ever made.
My cousin has forty toy cars.
My dad snores louder than a freight train.
My dad snores louder than our dog.
My face turned red when I tripped.
My face was so red it could stop traffic.
My grandmother has baked a billion cookies.
My grandmother has baked six dozen cookies.
My grandpa is older than my grandma.
My grandpa is older than the dinosaurs.
My gym bag weighs a ton.
My gym bag weighs twelve pounds.
My room is so messy it will take all morning to clean.
My room is so messy it would take a thousand years to clean.
My sister can talk for a thousand hours without a breath.
My sister can talk for an hour on the phone.
My whole class came to my party.
The pumpkin was bigger than a basketball.
The pumpkin was bigger than our whole town.
She cried a river of tears.
She cried for a few minutes.
The spelling test took a hundred years.
The spelling test took half an hour.
The sun was so hot it melted my ice pop.
The sun was so hot it melted my sneakers to the sidewalk.
The teacher's stack of papers reached her chin.
The teacher's stack of papers reached the stars.
That dog is so loud the neighbors can hear him.
That dog is so loud the whole planet can hear him.
That joke is from last year's talent show.
That joke is older than time itself.
That movie was so long I grew a beard watching it.
That movie was so long we needed a snack break.
That whistle could wake people on the other side of the Earth.
That whistle could wake the baby in the next room.
This is the best pizza in the entire universe.
This is the only pizza shop on our street.
This line is taking forever.
This line is taking twenty minutes.
This sandwich is a thousand feet tall.
This sandwich is three layers tall.
This suitcase weighs more than an elephant.
This suitcase weighs more than my book bag.
The tower is so tall it has two elevators.
The tower is so tall it scrapes the moon.
We waited in line for a century.
We waited in line for forty minutes.
The whole world came to my party.
The wind was strong enough to blow the town off the map.
The wind was strong enough to tip the trash cans over.

What the hyperbole means 55

The baby's cry could break windows across town. This means the cry was ___. glass-breaking / soft / very loud
The cafeteria was louder than a rocket launch. This means the room was ___. a launch pad / silent / very loud
The cat's purr was louder than a jet engine. This means the purr was ___. engine-loud / silent / very loud
Dad's snoring shook the whole house. This means the snoring was ___. an earthquake / quiet / very loud
The dog's bark rattled every dish in the state. This means the bark was ___. felt for miles / quiet / very loud
Grandma's garden has every flower in the world. This means the garden has ___ flowers. all the world's / many kinds of / no
He packed enough snacks to last a lifetime. This means he packed ___ snacks. a lifetime of / a lot of / no
He was hungry enough to eat the plate too. This means he was ___. chewing the plate / full / very hungry
Her room is so clean you could eat off the floor. This means the room is ___. a dining room / messy / very clean
Her voice could be heard on the moon. This means her voice was ___. a whisper / heard in space / very loud
I am so cold I am turning into an icicle. This means the speaker feels ___. frozen solid / very cold / warm
I am so happy I could float to the ceiling. This means the speaker is ___. able to float / sad / very happy
I ate so much that I will never eat again. This means the speaker is ___. done with food forever / hungry / very full
I could sleep for a week after that sleepover. This means the speaker is ___. asleep for seven days / very tired / wide awake
I have a million chores today. This means there are ___ chores. exactly a million / many / no
I have a thousand mosquito bites. This means there are ___ bites. exactly a thousand / many / no
I have been waiting here since the dinosaurs. This means the wait has been ___. long / millions of years / short
I have told that story a zillion times. This means the story has been told ___. never / often / zillions of times
I jumped a mile when the balloon popped. This means the speaker was ___. a mile away / calm / startled
I laughed for a hundred years at that joke. This means the laughing went on ___. a long time / for a century / for no time
I studied for a thousand hours. This means the studying felt ___. forty days long / short / very long
I will be grounded until I am ninety. This means the grounding will feel ___. decades long / short / very long
It is so hot that the sidewalk is boiling. This means the day is ___. boiling the concrete / chilly / very hot
It took a hundred hours to brush the dog. This means the brushing took ___. a long time / a moment / four days
The line for the slide was a mile long. This means the line was ___. a real mile / short / very long
My bag is so full it is about to explode. This means the bag is ___. nearly empty / ready to blow up / stuffed
My brother can eat a whole grocery store. This means he eats ___. a lot / shelves and carts / very little
My feet weigh a thousand pounds after that hike. This means the feet feel ___. heavy as a car / light / very tired
My grandfather knows everything about everything. This means he knows ___. a lot / all there is / little
My hands are colder than the North Pole. This means the hands feel ___. colder than the Arctic / very cold / warm
My little brother asks ten million questions a day. This means he asks ___ questions. many / no / ten million
My mom can hear a whisper from three towns away. This means her hearing is ___. poor / three towns wide / very sharp
My pencil case holds a whole office. This means the case holds ___. a lot / desks and chairs / nothing
My sister takes ten years to get ready. This means she is ___. quick / slow / ten years late
My uncle's truck is older than the wheel. This means the truck is ___. new / older than wheels / very old
The new roller coaster is taller than the moon. This means the ride is ___. in outer space / short / very tall
Our dog has more toys than a toy store. This means the dog has ___ toys. a store's worth of / many / no
The puddle by the bus stop is deep enough for whales. This means the puddle is ___. dry / home to whales / very big
The snow came up to the clouds. This means the snow was ___. sky high / thin / very deep
The teacher gave us a mountain of spelling words. This means the list was ___. as tall as a peak / short / very long
That bee was the size of a helicopter. This means the bee was ___. helicopter-sized / tiny / very big
That goal was the greatest moment in the history of the world. This means the goal was ___. dull / the best thing ever / thrilling
That nap lasted two seconds. This means the nap felt ___. long / two seconds long / very short
That quiz was so easy a goldfish could pass it. This means the quiz was ___. hard / made for fish / very easy
That squash weighs more than a school bus. This means the squash is ___. heavier than a bus / tiny / very heavy
That watermelon could feed a whole country. This means the melon is ___. food for a nation / small / very big
There were a billion people at the pool. This means the pool was ___. crowded / empty / holding a billion
This hallway goes on for a hundred miles. This means the hallway is ___. a hundred miles long / short / very long
This jigsaw will take me a billion years. This means the puzzle feels ___. a billion years long / easy / very hard
This pencil is so short it is invisible. This means the pencil is ___. brand new / impossible to see / very short
This soup is hotter than the sun. This means the soup is ___. cold / hotter than a star / very hot
This sweater is so itchy that a thousand ants must live in it. This means the sweater is ___. full of ants / soft / very itchy
Those boots cost more than a castle. This means the boots were ___. castle-priced, cheap, costly
We walked ten thousand miles at the zoo today. This means the walk was ___. around the world / long / short
The word list was longer than the school year. This means the list was ___. a year long / short / very long

How this list was compiled: Written for this page. Hyperbole is exaggeration used for effect, which nobody is meant to take as fact. In the first set every exaggerated sentence (My gym bag weighs a ton) has a plain mate about the same thing that could be measured and be true (My gym bag weighs twelve pounds), and each is tagged hyperbole or literal. In the second set a sentence with hyperbole is followed by a sentence to finish with one of three readings: what the speaker means, the words taken as fact, and the opposite. The definition follows the Wikipedia article Hyperbole and the Wiktionary entry hyperbole, read 9 October 2026. Some of the exaggerations are everyday sayings that belong to nobody (weighs a ton, a million times, eat a horse); the rest are our own. No sentence is quoted from a book, poem or song, and no person, brand or character is named. Licence: own work

How it works

Hyperbole is exaggeration for effect that nobody takes as fact: My gym bag weighs a ton. Each exaggerated sentence here has a plain mate, My gym bag weighs twelve pounds, and a second set asks what the speaker means.

Read the full guide

Hyperbole or literal

Ask whether the sentence could be measured and be true. I have told you three times to shut the gate could be. I have told you a million times could not, so it is hyperbole. Words such as million, forever and the whole world are clues.

What the hyperbole means

This soup is hotter than the sun. This means the soup is ___. The choices are very hot, hotter than a star and cold. The first is what the speaker means; the second takes the words as fact.

None of the exaggerations compares with like or as, so nothing here is also a simile.

Questions and answers

What is hyperbole?

Exaggeration used for emphasis or effect, not meant to be taken literally. This line is taking forever means only that the wait feels long.

What grade learns hyperbole?

The Common Core names hyperbole only in grades 11 and 12 (L.11-12.5a). Literal and nonliteral meanings start in grade 3 (L.3.5a). Any grade for these sheets is our suggestion.

Do these work as a hyperbole worksheet for 3rd grade?

Yes: the sentences are short and about everyday things, such as a heavy bag or a long line. For hyperbole worksheets in 4th grade, 5th grade or 6th grade, pick What the hyperbole means under Set.

What are some examples of hyperbole?

I am so hungry I could eat a horse. He runs faster than the speed of light. The whole world came to my party. Each says far more than is true to make a point.

Is there an answer key?

Yes. The last page is the key, with the right choice circled under each sentence. Uncheck Add an answer key as the last page under More options to print the sheet alone.

All 155 sentences

Hyperbole or literal? 100

Hyperbole or literal?, continued

What the hyperbole means 55

How it works

Hyperbole or literal

What the hyperbole means

Questions and answers

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