3rd grade figurative language worksheets

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Third grade figurative language worksheets mix five figures of speech on one page: simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia and alliteration. Each line of writing uses one of them. Your child reads the line, looks at the three names in parentheses, and writes the one that fits. A second sheet prints the same lines as a circle-the-letter test.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.3.5.a.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of sentences you'll fix

Write the name of the figure of speech each line uses. Choose from the words in parentheses.

  1. Grandpa’s keys jingled in his pocket. This line uses (alliteration / metaphor / onomatopoeia).

    Fixed: Grandpa’s keys jingled in his pocket. This line uses onomatopoeia.

  2. At the farmers market, we walked through a rainbow of fruit. This line uses (alliteration / metaphor / onomatopoeia).
  3. Ben brought blue blocks to build a bridge. This line uses (alliteration / personification / simile).

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 3rd grade sheet

3rd grade sheets draw from 60 sentences, 8 to a page. None of these sentences are on 4th grade sheets.

A few of the sentences:

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Give each figure a question your child can ask out loud. Is there a like or an as? Does it say one thing is another thing? Is an object doing something only people do? Is there a word that copies a sound? Do three words start with the same sound? Read every line aloud, since sound words and matching first sounds are easier to hear than to see. When your child picks the wrong name, ask what the right one has that the other doesn't.

Watch for: A sound word is not personification. A door that creaks is onomatopoeia, because doors really do creak. A printer that refuses to print is personification, because refusing is something people do. Like and as only make a simile when two different things are compared. My shoes are like yours compares two pairs of shoes, so it is not a simile. Alliteration follows the first sound, not the first letter. Kai's cat climbed repeats one k sound, but cold cereal does not, because the c in cereal sounds like s.

Common questions about 3rd grade figurative language

What is figurative language in 3rd grade?
It is writing that means more than its exact words, or that plays with sound. Third graders usually meet five kinds: similes, metaphors, personification, onomatopoeia and alliteration. The moon is a lamp isn't true word for word, but it gives you a picture.
How do I explain onomatopoeia and alliteration to my child?
Onomatopoeia is a word that copies a sound, such as buzz or splash. Alliteration is three or more words close together that start with the same sound, such as silly snakes slide. Say them out loud: one sounds like the noise, and the other sounds like a tongue twister.

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Aligned to Common Core L.3.5.a. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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