Name:______________________
Figurative Language Study Guide
Test Date: __________________________
Directions: Use your notes to help you fill in the blanks. Then highlight the bolded terms. You will need to
know all of them for the test.
Figurative language is a tool that an author uses, to help the reader ____________________, or see, what
is happening in a story or poem.
Simile is a comparison using ________ or _______. It usually compares two unlike objects.
Example: His feet are as big as boats. Feet and boats are being compared.
Metaphor is a comparison that states one thing is something else. It is a comparison, but does ________
use like or as to make the comparison.
Example: Her hair is silk. Hair and silk are being compared.
Personification is giving __________ qualities, feelings, actions, or characteristics to nonhuman things.
Example: The house stared at me with looming eyes.
Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound at the ________________ of words. There should be
at least two repetitions in a row.
Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Onomatopoeia is the representation of _______________ in word form.
Example: Bong! Hiss! Buzz!
Hyperbole is intentionally _____________________ figures of speech.
Example: It was the best day ever!
Idiom is an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but the phrase
has a meaning of its own. It’s a well-known phrase that means something different than the words seem
to mean.
Example: He pigged out on dinner last night, so he doesn’t even want to eat breakfast.
Simile, Metaphor, and Personification Practice
Directions: Circle the objects being compared or the object being personified. Then identify it as a simile (S),
a metaphor (M), or personification (P).
1. _____ Megan was as happy as a bug in a rug.
2. _____ The pencil danced across my paper.
3. _____ The gnarled fingers of the tree caught my coat.
4. _____ This house is an icebox this morning.
5. _____ You look like the cat that swallowed the canary.
6. _____ That black cloud appeared out of nowhere like a rabbit out of a hat.
7. _____ In late March, the tulips welcomed spring with open arms.
8. _____ He said, “You dance like a dream.”
9. _____ The sand was a glitter of diamonds in the bright sun.
10. _____ The windblown leaves raced me home.
11. _____ I like it when you are as quiet as a mouse.
12. _____ The fog covered London like a thick, flannel blanket.
13. _____ Last night the automobile’s alarm screamed endlessly.
14. _____ The lake was a mirror even as I skated across it.
15. _____ The typical teenage boy's room is a disaster area.
Alliteration Practice
Directions: Circle the repeating sound in each sentence.
16. Tattling tongues tell tales too often.
17. Suddenly Sally sat up and stretched.
18. A cracked cup crashed to the floor.
Directions: Writing a word that completes the alliteration.
19. Funny Fran found five______________________________.
20. Laughing ____________________loaded lemon trees into the Lincoln.
21. Tomatoes on twisted vines looked _______________________.
Onomatopoeia Practice
Directions: Match the onomatopoeia with the thing that makes that sound.
A. Splash
22. _____ Electric saw
B. Ring
23. _____ Frog leaping in the water
C. Chug-a
24. _____ Sound of a door closing
25. _____ Alarm clock
D. Buzz
26. _____ A train going up a hill
E. Ding Dong
27. _____ Doorbell
F. Creak
Hyperbole Practice
Directions: Decide whether each sentence is a hyperbole (H) or not a hyperbole (N).
____ 28. Look, I said no a million times, so please don’t ask me again.
____ 29. My favorite kind of ice cream is mint chocolate chip.
____ 30. It’s going to take a year to straighten out this confusion.
____ 31. That man is seventy feet tall!
____ 32. I like reading fiction better than nonfiction.
Onomatopoeia and Hyperbole Practice
Directions: Circle the 3 onomatopoeias and underline the 5 hyperboles. (#33-40)
We went on a hike in the woods yesterday. We heard the leaves crunch underneath our feet. We had
to carry our lunch along with a lot of sloshing water, so my backpack weighed a ton! We walked for about a
million miles before we got to the trickling waterfall where we were eating lunch. My lunch was pretty good
except that the bread in my sandwich was so stale that I nearly broke my teeth biting into it. On the way back,
I was attacked by a thousand mosquitoes. By the time we got home I was so tired that I slept for a week!
41. Draw a picture illustrating the paragraph:
Mixed Review
Directions: Match the type of figurative language to its example.
____
42. Grandpa lounged on the raft in the middle of the pool like an old battleship.
A. Simile
____
43. I went home and made the biggest sandwich of all time.
B. Metaphor
____
44. The sorry engine wheezed its death cough.
C. Personification
____
45. He had ants in his pants.
D. Onomatopoeia
____
46. The swamp frogs croaked in unison.
E. Alliteration
____
47. As usual, her life is a fashion show.
F. Hyperbole
____
48. Erin cooked cupcakes in the kitchen.
G. Idiom
The Last Summer Train
A train moans and roars through the valley distance1
Down the hill in the cooling last summer night2
Carry away despair3
Carry away my weary worries4
And leave all silent shining in the morning sun5
49. What type of figurative language is used in line 1 of the poem?
_________________________________ and ________________________________
50. What type of figurative language is used in line 4 of the poem?
_________________________________
Deeper Meaning
53. The test was a walk in the park.
The test is being compared to a walk in the park because it was ____________.
A. Beautiful
B. Easy
C. Colorful
D. Disastrous
54. The town square was buzzing like a beehive.
The town is being compared to a beehive because it is___________________.
A. Dangerous
B. Sticky
C. Stubborn
D. Busy
55. She walks around like she’s the queen of Egypt.
She is being compared to the queen of Egypt because she is______________.
A. Brilliant
B. Powerful
C. Ashamed
D. Very old