Figurative Language — Answer Key
Part A: Fix the Sentence
Each sentence has an error. Rewrite it correctly on the line.
1. Fix the sentence:
The sentence "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" is a metaphor.
Corrected: The sentence "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" is hyperbole.
Nobody could actually eat a whole horse, so this is a huge exaggeration used for effect, which makes it hyperbole rather than a metaphor.
2. Fix the sentence:
The sentence "The river sang to us" is a simile because it compares two things.
Corrected: The sentence "The river sang to us" is personification because it gives the river a human action.
Singing is something only people can do, so saying the river sings gives it a human action — that is personification, not a simile (similes use like or as).
3. Fix the sentence:
The sentence "He was as slow as a turtle" is personification.
Corrected: The sentence "He was as slow as a turtle" is a simile.
The phrase uses the word "as" to compare him to a turtle, and that kind of comparison with like or as is the signal that it is a simile.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. When someone says "It's raining cats and dogs," they mean it is raining very hard.
Cats and dogs are not really falling from the sky — the idiom is a colorful way to say the rain is coming down hard or heavily.
2. Hyperbole is a big exaggeration used to make a point or be funny.
Hyperbole stretches the truth on purpose, like saying "my backpack weighs a ton," so an exaggeration is exactly what it is.
3. The night sky was as dark as coal. This sentence is a simile.
Coal is a deep, jet-black rock, so it is a vivid match when comparing the darkness of the night sky using "as dark as."
4. An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is different from the actual words.
An idiom like "break a leg" does not match its literal words at all, so its meaning is different from what the words actually say.
Part C: True or False?
Read each statement. Circle True or False.
1. Hyperbole uses extreme exaggeration to make a point.
True False
That is exactly the definition of hyperbole — writers stretch the truth in big ways, like "I've told you a million times," to emphasize a point.
2. The phrase "Break a leg" literally means to break your leg.
True False
"Break a leg" is an idiom actors use to wish someone good luck on stage, so its meaning is the opposite of the literal words.
3. The sentence "My backpack weighs a ton" is an example of hyperbole.
True False
A backpack does not really weigh 2,000 pounds, so the sentence stretches the truth on purpose to show it feels very heavy — that is hyperbole.