7th grade similes and metaphors worksheets

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A simile compares two things using like or as. A metaphor makes the same comparison without them, saying one thing is the other. Seventh grade comparisons come from the sentences a novel or an essay would use, so the sort asks a reader to notice the form rather than the picture.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.7.5.a.

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The kind of phrases you'll sort

Write each phrase from the bank under Simile or Metaphor.

her memory is a filing cabinet nobody else can openlike a window painted shutour first program was a maze of its own makinglike a radio caught between two stationsthe network is a rope everyone pulls at onceas empty as a gym after the last buslike a knot pulled tighter by every handhis silence was a verdict

Columns: Simile and Metaphor. "as empty as a gym after the last bus" belongs under simile; "our first program was a maze of its own making" 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 7th grade sheet

7th grade sheets draw from 64 phrases, 14 to a page. None of these phrases are on 6th grade sheets.

Some of the words:

like a question nobody wanted to answerlike a bridge with one plank missinglike a boat drifting off its mooringlike an argument running out of breathas fragile as a first drafther patience was a thin blanket in a cold roomthe rumor was a fire in dry grassthe season was a staircase we climbed backwardthat essay is a house built on one beamher voice is a lantern in a crowded room

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

How to teach this

The sorting rule is easy and the writing lesson is not, so spend the time on the second one. Have your student rewrite three similes from the page as metaphors and read both versions aloud. The metaphor is shorter and lands harder, which is why writers reach for it, and hearing that difference is worth more than another round of sorting. It is also the moment to name a dead metaphor: the leg of a table was once a comparison and is now just a word.

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 7th grade similes and metaphors

Is a metaphor just a simile without like?
Close, and the difference matters. A simile says something resembles something else, which leaves room to disagree. A metaphor says it is that thing. Her patience was a thin blanket claims more than her patience was like a thin blanket.
Why are the seventh grade phrases longer?
Because the figures a seventh grader meets in reading are longer. As busy as a bee teaches the form; like a radio caught between two stations teaches what the form is for.
What is an extended metaphor?
A metaphor a writer keeps going for several sentences or a whole poem. Once your student can spot a single metaphor, look for one that runs through a paragraph. That is the next step in the same skill.

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Aligned to Common Core L.7.5.a. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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