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10 printable sets · answer key on every set

Figurative Language Worksheets

  • CCSS L.5.5.a
  • 15 items per set
  • Answer key included

What this skill is

Naming the type of comparison or exaggeration a sentence uses — simile, metaphor, personification, or hyperbole.

When it comes up: Fifth grade.

The mistake to watch for

Confusing simile and metaphor because both are comparisons — the giveaway is simply whether "like" or "as" is present.

How to help

Teach the one mechanical test first: if the sentence uses "like" or "as," it's a simile; if it states one thing IS another, it's a metaphor. The other types (personification, hyperbole) come after that distinction is automatic.

Next: Reading comprehension skills — main idea, inference, and theme — which is where this becomes essential rather than just an identification exercise.

A worked example

'The snow was a white blanket' says the snow IS a blanket, so it is a metaphor. 'The snow was like a white blanket' uses 'like', so it is a simile.

Words to know

simile
A way of comparing two things using "like" or "as", such as "as quick as a fox".
metaphor
A way of describing something by saying it is something else, like "the snow is a blanket".
idiom
A saying that does not mean what the words say, like "it's raining cats and dogs".
sentence
A group of words that tells a whole thought. It starts with a capital letter and ends with punctuation.
language
The words we use to talk and write.

Practice

Name the type of figurative language used.

Showing Set 1 · 15 items

  1. What kind of figurative language is this? "The rain fell like tiny drums."
  2. What kind of figurative language is this? "The leaves danced across the yard."
  3. What kind of figurative language is this? "I've told you a million times."
  4. What kind of figurative language is this? "The library was as quiet as a mouse."
  5. What kind of figurative language is this? "His heart was a block of ice."
  6. What kind of figurative language is this? "The stars danced in the night sky."
  7. What kind of figurative language is this? "The wind whispered through the trees."
  8. What kind of figurative language is this? "The classroom was a zoo."
  9. What kind of figurative language is this? "The old car groaned as it started."
  10. What kind of figurative language is this? "Time is money."
  11. What kind of figurative language is this? "This backpack weighs a ton."
  12. What kind of figurative language is this? "He ran as fast as lightning."
  13. What kind of figurative language is this? "She was drowning in homework."
  14. What kind of figurative language is this? "Her smile was as bright as the sun."
  15. What kind of figurative language is this? "She was as busy as a bee."

Download this set15 items · answer key included PDF

Answer key
  1. simile
  2. personification
  3. hyperbole
  4. simile
  5. metaphor
  6. personification
  7. personification
  8. metaphor
  9. personification
  10. metaphor
  11. hyperbole
  12. simile
  13. metaphor
  14. simile
  15. simile

All 10 sets

Each set is a different list of 15 items with its own answer key. Use the buttons above to look at one on this page, or download any of them as a PDF.

How these sheets were made
  • Problems are generated for each set and checked against L.5.5.a before the sheet is built — no duplicates, and every problem falls inside the standard's number range.

Common Core State Standards © 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.