6th grade similes and metaphors worksheets

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Sixth graders treat similes and metaphors as author's choices: a simile keeps its distance (her voice was like music) while a metaphor commits (her voice is music). Recognizing which tool a writer picked, and why, feeds directly into literary analysis.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.5.5.a.

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The kind of phrases you'll sort

Write each phrase from the bank under Simile or Metaphor.

like two peas in a podeats like a birdas strong as an oxas tall as a giraffethe garden is a rainbowtime is a thiefthe night sky is velvetthe test was a breeze

Columns: Simile and Metaphor. "eats like a bird" belongs under simile; "the garden is a rainbow" belongs under metaphor.

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

What's on a 6th grade sheet

6th grade sheets draw from 60 phrases, 14 to a page. 4th to 6th grade print from the same 60 phrases. The teaching notes below are written for this grade.

Some of the words:

as busy as a beeran like the windas white as snowas slow as molassesas sly as a foxas smooth as silksings like an angelthe classroom was a zoothe sun is a golden ballthe hall was a river of kids

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

How to teach this

Compare the same idea in both forms: he ran like the wind against he was the wind. Ask which is bolder and when a writer might want each. Then send students hunting in their own reading; song lyrics and sports writing are reliably rich territory for both figures.

Watch for: Like or as is the tell for a simile, but the words must build a comparison; 'I like pizza' isn't one. A metaphor isn't a lie; nobody thinks the room is literally a zoo. It's a picture painted with a claim.

Common questions about 6th grade similes and metaphors

Is one of the two stronger writing?
Neither; they do different jobs. A simile keeps the comparison visible and gentle, while a metaphor commits fully and hits harder. Strong writers choose deliberately, and strong readers notice the choice. That noticing is exactly what this sort practices.
What figurative language comes after similes and metaphors?
Personification (the wind howled), hyperbole (I've told you a million times), and idioms (break the ice). Similes and metaphors are the foundation, because almost every other figure is a variation on comparing one thing to another.

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Aligned to Common Core L.5.5.a. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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