Figurative Language — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. The ice cream was as cold as winter. (simile)
Winter brings freezing temperatures that everyone knows well, so it is a strong pick when using "as cold as" to describe icy ice cream.
2. The rain tapped on the windows all night. (personification)
Tapping is something fingers do to knock lightly, so giving that human action to the rain drops makes this personification.
3. Friendship is a shield that keeps you safe. (metaphor)
A shield is something that blocks harm, so calling friendship a shield — with no "like" or "as" — is a metaphor that shows how friends protect you.
4. I have a million things to do today! (hyperbole)
No one can fit a million tasks in one day, so that giant number exaggerates how busy the day feels — exactly what hyperbole does.
5. The old stairs complained under our feet. (personification)
Complaining is something people do when unhappy, so describing creaky stairs as if they are grumbling gives them a human voice — that is personification.
6. He eats like a bird. (simile meaning he eats very little)
Small birds take tiny pecks at their food, so the simile "eats like a bird" paints the picture that he eats only a little bit.
7. Her smile was a ray of sunshine. (metaphor)
Sunshine feels warm and bright, so directly calling a smile a ray of sunshine (no like or as) is a metaphor showing how cheerful it is.
8. To "hit the nail on the head" is an idiom that means to get something exactly right.
The phrase has nothing to do with actual hammers and nails, and a saying with a hidden meaning different from its words is called an idiom.
9. The mountain looked down at the tiny village below. (personification)
Mountains do not have eyes, so saying the mountain looked down gives it a human ability — that is personification that shows how tall it is.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
That joke is so old it has a beard.
→ hyperbole about an old joke
simile using like
Her eyes were like emeralds.
→ simile using like
hyperbole about an old joke
The clock stared at me during the test.
→ personification of a clock
metaphor about happiness
Laughter is the best medicine.
→ metaphor about happiness
personification of a clock
A joke cannot really grow a beard, so that exaggeration is hyperbole; the eyes sentence uses the word "like," which signals a simile; clocks cannot stare, so giving a clock that human action is personification; and the last sentence calls laughter medicine directly without like or as, which makes it a metaphor.