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Understanding Metaphors

This worksheet helps fifth-grade students understand and identify metaphors in sentences and short passages.

Grade 5 ELA GrammarLanguage and VocabularyLanguageFigurative LanguageMetaphors
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Includes

TextMultiple ChoiceFill in the Blanks2 Short AnswerTrue / False

Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.5.A

Topics

ELAGrade 5Figurative LanguageMetaphors
8 sections · Free to use · Printable
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Understanding Metaphors

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Read each section carefully and answer the questions. A metaphor is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'.

A metaphor is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'. It says one thing IS another thing to help us understand it better. For example, 'The classroom was a zoo' means the classroom was very chaotic and noisy, like a zoo.

1. Which of the following sentences contains a metaphor?

a

The clouds looked like fluffy cotton balls.

b

Her smile was sunshine on a cloudy day.

c

The wind howled through the trees.

d

He ran as fast as a cheetah.

2. The snow was a white blanket over the town. What two things are being compared in this metaphor?

a

snow and town

b

white and blanket

c

snow and blanket

d

town and white

Complete each sentence with a word that creates a metaphor.

3. The baby was a   of joy.

4. The librarian was a walking   of knowledge.

5. My bed is a soft   after a long day.

6. Read the metaphor: 'The politician was a snake.' What does this metaphor mean? Explain in your own words.

7. A metaphor uses the words 'like' or 'as' to compare two things.

T

True

F

False

8. Write your own sentence using a metaphor. Underline the two things you are comparing.