Key takeaways
- Figurative language is any word or phrase that means something different from its literal, dictionary meaning — it creates a picture, a feeling or an effect.
- The 12 types to teach across primary and secondary are simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom, onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance, symbolism, oxymoron, pun and imagery.
- Teach the difference between literal and figurative meaning first — most misreadings come from students taking an idiom or metaphor at face value.
- The fastest way to lock it in is repeated identification practice: spot the device, name it, explain the effect.
Figurative language is language that doesn't mean exactly what the words say. When a student writes "the classroom was a zoo," no one thinks there were lions — they picture noise and chaos. That gap between the literal words and the intended meaning is where figurative language lives, and it's one of the highest-leverage things you can teach in English. It powers reading comprehension (students who read "time flew" literally get stuck), sharpens their own writing, and shows up in every poem, novel and advertisement they'll ever meet.
The trouble is that most students meet these devices as a vocabulary list to memorise — simile, metaphor, hyperbole — without ever seeing what each one does. This guide flips that: every type below comes with a plain-English definition and a classroom-ready example, so students learn to recognise the effect first and the label second.
The 12 types of figurative language (with examples)
| Type | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simile | Compares two things using "like" or "as" | She was as brave as a lion. |
| Metaphor | States one thing IS another, no "like"/"as" | The classroom was a zoo. |
| Personification | Gives human traits to objects, animals or ideas | The wind whispered through the trees. |
| Hyperbole | Deliberate, obvious exaggeration for effect | I've told you a million times. |
| Idiom | A set phrase whose meaning isn't literal | It's raining cats and dogs. |
| Onomatopoeia | A word that imitates a sound | The bacon sizzled and popped. |
| Alliteration | Repeats the same starting sound in nearby words | Peter Piper picked a peck of peppers. |
| Assonance | Repeats vowel sounds inside nearby words | The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain. |
| Symbolism | An object stands for a bigger idea | A dove represents peace. |
| Oxymoron | Pairs two words that contradict each other | It was a deafening silence. |
| Pun | Plays on a word's double meaning for humour | A boiled egg is hard to beat. |
| Imagery | Sensory detail that paints a picture | The crisp, golden toast crunched loudly. |
The four your students will use most
If you're short on time, prioritise these. Similes and metaphors are the workhorses of descriptive writing — a simile keeps the two things side by side ("quiet like a mouse"), while a metaphor collapses them into one ("a mountain of homework"). Personification is the quickest win for creative writing because it instantly makes a description feel alive: a clock doesn't just tick, it nags. And hyperbole is the one students already use every day — "this bag weighs a tonne" — so it's a natural bridge from playground talk to the page.
Figurative vs. literal language
Literal language means precisely what it says: "the dog is brown" describes a brown dog, full stop. Figurative language uses comparison, exaggeration or sound to say something beyond the plain words. The teaching move that matters most is helping students switch between the two modes on demand. When a struggling reader hits "she had a heart of gold," they need a flag that says this isn't literal — picture kindness, not metal. A simple two-column sort (Literal / Figurative) using sentences from your current class text is the single most effective five-minute activity for this, and it doubles as a quick formative check.
How to teach figurative language, step by step
- 1
Anchor it in the literal/figurative divide
Start with 6–8 sentences and have students sort each as literal or figurative. This builds the core habit — noticing when words aren't meant at face value — before any labels appear.
- 2
Introduce one device at a time
Teach simile, then metaphor, then personification — not all twelve at once. Give each a one-line definition, two examples, and a non-example so students see the boundary.
- 3
Move from spotting to naming
Hand out short poems or picture-book pages and have students highlight every device, then label it. Colour-coding by type turns an abstract idea into something visible.
- 4
Explain the effect, not just the name
Push past identification to "why did the author choose this?" A metaphor for a storm builds fear; alliteration makes a slogan stick. This is the skill exams actually assess.
- 5
Have them write their own
Give a subject — the weather, a busy canteen — and ask for one simile, one metaphor and one example of personification. Producing devices cements recognition far faster than worksheets alone.
Use mentor texts
Pull examples straight from the novel or poem you're already studying — students transfer the skill better when it's grounded in real reading, not isolated sentences.
Colour-code by device
Assign each type a colour so students can literally see how densely an author layers figurative language across a page.
Make it a game
A quick 'name that device' quiz or a figurative-language scavenger hunt through song lyrics keeps low-stakes practice high-frequency.
Differentiate the list
Start younger classes on simile, metaphor and onomatopoeia; save oxymoron, assonance and symbolism for older or extension students.
Turn any text or word list into figurative language practice
Generate leveled worksheets — identify the device, explain the effect, write your own — in a couple of clicks.
Generate figurative language worksheetsFrequently asked questions
It's language that means something different from the literal, word-for-word meaning. Instead of saying exactly what's true, it uses comparison, exaggeration or sound to create a picture or feeling — for example, "time flew" doesn't mean time grew wings.
The most commonly taught types are simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom, onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance, symbolism, oxymoron, pun and imagery. Simile, metaphor, personification and hyperbole are the four students use most in their own writing.
A simile compares two things using "like" or "as" — "as quiet as a mouse." A metaphor states that one thing IS another, with no comparison word — "he was a mouse in the meeting." Both draw a comparison; only the simile signals it with "like" or "as."
Similes, onomatopoeia and alliteration can start in the early primary years because they're playful and concrete. Metaphor, personification and hyperbole suit middle-to-upper primary, while oxymoron, symbolism and assonance are usually secondary-level, where students analyse an author's choices.
It's essential for both reading and writing. Readers who can't spot figurative meaning misunderstand idioms and metaphors, which hurts comprehension. As writers, students who control these devices produce more vivid, engaging work — and analysing them is a core skill in English exams.