Figurative Language — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. What does the idiom "Costs an arm and a leg" mean?
A) You need to use both hands.
B) Something is very expensive.
C) You have to exercise first.
D) It is a type of surgery.
Arms and legs are priceless body parts, so the idiom uses them to show the price is so high you'd feel like you were giving up something huge — very expensive.
2. Which sentence uses personification?
A) She sings like an angel.
B) The math test was a monster.
C) The leaves whispered in the breeze.
D) He is faster than a speeding bullet.
Whispering is a soft human way of speaking, so describing leaves as if they whisper gives them that human action — that is personification.
3. Read: "My teacher has eyes in the back of her head." This sentence is best described as —
A) a simile
B) personification
C) a metaphor
D) an idiom
Nobody actually has eyes on the back of their head — the phrase really means the teacher notices everything, and that hidden meaning makes it an idiom.
4. Which sentence contains both a simile AND hyperbole?
A) The dog barked loudly all day long.
B) She was as bright as a million suns.
C) The trees danced and the flowers sang.
D) His joke was so funny that everyone smiled.
The phrase "as bright as" is the simile comparison, and "a million suns" is an impossible exaggeration, so the one sentence contains both a simile and hyperbole.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. "The road stretched on forever" is hyperbole meaning the road seemed very long.
No road truly goes on for all of time, so using "forever" is a huge exaggeration to show how long the road looks — a classic mark of hyperbole.
2. "Spill the beans" is an idiom that means to tell a secret.
The phrase has nothing to do with actual beans, and a saying whose meaning is different from its literal words is called an idiom.
3. "The classroom was as quiet as a library" is a simile about silence.
Libraries are famous for their hush, so they are the classic choice in a simile that uses "as quiet as" to describe a silent classroom.
4. "Opportunity knocked at the door" is personification giving opportunity a human action.
Knocking is something a person does with their fist, so giving opportunity that human action creates personification — a chance showing up like a visitor.
5. "Time is a thief" is a metaphor meaning time takes things away from us.
A thief takes things without asking, and calling time a thief directly — no like or as — is a metaphor showing how time quietly steals moments from us.