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Figurative Language Worksheets and Lesson Plans

4 free printable lessons for grades 4–11-12.

Figurative language is any expression that means something other than its literal words — and it is one of the few language-arts topics that runs from elementary school through senior English, getting harder rather than getting finished. This page collects our free printable lessons on it, plus a quick reference you can keep open while teaching.

Quick reference

The nine types students meet most often, with a plain-language definition and an example. Types we have a lesson for are linked.

TypeWhat it isExample
SimileA comparison between two unlike things using like or as.Her backpack was as heavy as a boulder.
MetaphorA comparison that states one thing is another, without like or as.Her backpack was a boulder.
IdiomA common phrase whose meaning cannot be worked out from the individual words.He let the cat out of the bag.
HyperboleDeliberate exaggeration for effect, not meant to be believed.I have told you a million times.
ParadoxA statement that contradicts itself yet points at something true.The more you give away, the more you have.
Verbal ironySaying the opposite of what is meant, usually for humour or emphasis."Lovely weather," she said, wringing out her coat.
PersonificationGiving human qualities or actions to something that is not human.The wind whispered through the gym doors.
OnomatopoeiaA word that imitates the sound it names.The bacon hissed and popped.
AlliterationThe same consonant sound repeated at the start of nearby words.Six slippery seals slid silently.

Lessons

35 minutes · L.4.5a
Like a Simile: Simile and Metaphor Worksheet
Fourth graders learn to tell similes from metaphors, explain what familiar examples mean, then invent their own comparisons to describe an imaginary creature.
40 minutes · L.5.5b
Idiom Detectives
Fifth graders match common idioms, adages, and proverbs to what they actually mean, then illustrate the difference between a literal and figurative reading.
40 minutes · L.8.5a
Say What You Don't Mean: Verbal Irony and Puns
Eighth graders learn to tell verbal irony from a pun, interpret real examples in context, then write their own of each.
45 minutes · L.11-12.5a
Hyperbole and Paradox: Figurative Language Worksheet
Eleventh and twelfth graders interpret hyperbole and paradox in context, then explain what each figure of speech accomplishes that a literal statement couldn't.

Figurative language is also where a lot of students first notice that writing has choices in it — that "the wind whispered" and "the wind blew" are not the same sentence. That is worth more classroom time than identification drills usually allow, so every lesson below ends with students writing their own rather than only labelling someone else's.