Figurative language

Similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia

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1
Which sentence contains a simile? A) Her smile was as bright as the sun. B) The wind howled through the trees. C) He is a star player. D) The leaves danced in the breeze.
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2
What type of figurative language is 'The thunder roared angrily'? A) Personification B) Simile C) Alliteration D) Onomatopoeia
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3
'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers' is an example of alliteration. 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers' is an example of alliteration. A) True B) False
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4
Which is a SIMILE? A) The wind whispered. B) She was a star. C) He ran like the wind. D) The car zoomed.
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5
Match each example to its type of figurative language. Match each item on the left to one on the right. Left: The classroom was a zoo, The bees buzzed busily, The car coughed and spluttered, She ran like the wind Right: Metaphor, Alliteration, Personification, Simile
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6
Which of these is an example of onomatopoeia? A) The fire crackled in the hearth B) Time is money C) She had eyes like stars D) Slowly and silently the snake slithered
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7
'Life is a journey' is a simile. 'Life is a journey' is a simile. A) True B) False
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8
In the sentence 'The stars winked down at the sleeping village', how many examples of personification can you find? A) Two (stars winking and village sleeping) B) None C) One (only stars winking) D) One (only sleeping village)
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9
'He fought like a lion' and 'He was a lion in battle' use the same type of figurative language. 'He fought like a lion' and 'He was a lion in battle' use the same type of figurative language. A) True B) False
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10
Which sentence uses figurative language to create a NEGATIVE impression? A) The news spread like wildfire across the school. B) Her voice was as sweet as honey. C) The soldier stood like an oak tree. D) His heart was pure gold.
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Answer key

Figurative language · for parents and teachers

1
Her smile was as bright as the sun.
'As bright as the sun' is a simile because it compares her smile to the sun using 'as...as'. The others are a personification, metaphor, and personification.
2
Personification
Personification gives human qualities to non-human things. Thunder cannot actually 'roar angrily' - these are human actions and emotions.
3
True
This is alliteration because many words start with the same 'p' sound: Peter, Piper, picked, peck, pickled, peppers.
4
He ran like the wind.
'Like the wind' uses 'like' - that's a simile.
5
The classroom was a zoo → Metaphor; The bees buzzed busily → Alliteration; The car coughed and spluttered → Personification; She ran like the wind → Simile
'Was a zoo' is metaphor (direct comparison); 'bees buzzed busily' is alliteration (repeated 'b'); 'car coughed' is personification (cars cannot cough); 'like the wind' is simile (uses 'like').
6
The fire crackled in the hearth
'Crackled' is onomatopoeia - the word imitates the sound a fire makes. 'Time is money' is a metaphor, 'eyes like stars' is a simile, and the snake sentence is alliteration.
7
False
'Life is a journey' is a metaphor, not a simile. It says life IS a journey (direct comparison) rather than life is LIKE a journey (which would use 'like' or 'as').
8
Two (stars winking and village sleeping)
There are two examples of personification: 'stars winked' (stars cannot really wink) and 'sleeping village' (a village cannot really sleep). Both give human actions to non-human things.
9
False
'Fought LIKE a lion' is a simile (uses 'like'). 'WAS a lion' is a metaphor (says he IS the thing). They use different techniques even though both compare him to a lion.
10
The news spread like wildfire across the school.
Spreading 'like wildfire' has negative connotations - wildfire is uncontrollable and destructive, suggesting the news spread in a harmful, unstoppable way. The others all create positive impressions.