Students practice identifying oxymorons in sentences on this educational worksheet.

Let’s go through each sentence one by one and decide if it contains an oxymoron — that means two words that seem to contradict each other but are used together (like “jumbo shrimp” or “pretty ugly”). If there’s no contradiction, then it’s “no oxymoron.”

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1. My wound was pretty ugly.
→ “Pretty” usually means nice-looking, and “ugly” means not nice-looking. So this is a contradiction → oxymoron

2. I arrived to the museum on Saturday.
→ No contradictory words here. Just stating when you arrived → no oxymoron

3. The restaurant received a new shipment of jumbo shrimps.
→ “Jumbo” = big, “shrimp” = small creature. But “jumbo shrimp” is a common phrase meaning large shrimp — still, it’s technically an oxymoron because “shrimp” implies small → oxymoron

4. I clearly misunderstood the information.
→ “Clearly” means easy to understand, “misunderstood” means didn’t understand. Contradiction → oxymoron

5. I skimmed my favorite chapter book.
→ “Skimmed” means read quickly without detail; “favorite chapter book” suggests you’d want to read it carefully. Not really a direct word contradiction — more about behavior. Probably no oxymoron

6. That was an awfully nice way to say goodbye.
→ “Awfully” can mean very bad, but here it’s used as “very” (like “awfully good”). In modern use, it’s just emphasis — not truly contradictory → no oxymoron

7. Turtles lay their eggs on the sand.
→ Fact statement. No conflicting words → no oxymoron

8. The dog and cat were all alone together.
→ “Alone” means by yourself, “together” means with someone else. Big contradiction → oxymoron

9. We were surrounded by a small crowd.
→ “Surrounded” often implies many people, “small crowd” means few. Could be seen as contradictory → oxymoron

10. Elise is performing at her graduation.
→ Normal event. No contradiction → no oxymoron

11. The clouds covered the sun all day.
→ Weather description. No opposing words → no oxymoron

12. Our science project was completely unfinished.
→ “Completely” means 100%, “unfinished” means not done. That’s a contradiction → oxymoron

13. It’s so not naturally when we’re told about the surprise.
→ This sentence seems grammatically off. Maybe meant: “It’s so unnatural...” or “not natural”? As written, “not naturally” doesn’t form a clear oxymoron. Let’s assume typo — if it’s “unnatural,” then maybe. But as-is? Hard to say. Best to mark no oxymoron unless corrected.

Wait — actually, looking again: “so not naturally” — perhaps they meant “so unnaturally”? Even then, “unnaturally” isn’t paired with its opposite. So probably no oxymoron

14. The glass tank was fully empty.
→ “Fully” = completely, “empty” = nothing inside. But “fully empty” is redundant, not contradictory — something can’t be “partially empty” in logic? Actually, “fully empty” is okay — like “completely empty.” Not really an oxymoron → no oxymoron

BUT — some might argue “fully” and “empty” clash — but in real usage, we say “completely empty,” which is fine. So let’s stick with no oxymoron

15. The amount of papers on the table were growing smaller.
→ Papers piling up would grow *larger*, not smaller. “Growing smaller” is a contradiction → oxymoron

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Now let’s list our answers clearly:

1. oxymoron
2. no oxymoron
3. oxymoron
4. oxymoron
5. no oxymoron
6. no oxymoron
7. no oxymoron
8. oxymoron
9. oxymoron
10. no oxymoron
11. no oxymoron
12. oxymoron
13. no oxymoron
14. no oxymoron
15. oxymoron

Final Answer:
1. oxymoron
2. no oxymoron
3. oxymoron
4. oxymoron
5. no oxymoron
6. no oxymoron
7. no oxymoron
8. oxymoron
9. oxymoron
10. no oxymoron
11. no oxymoron
12. oxymoron
13. no oxymoron
14. no oxymoron
15. oxymoron