Literary Devices Crossword Puzzle | Free Printable Worksheet

A fast review of the terms high schoolers need to talk about how a text works: figurative language, sound devices, and the narrative techniques authors use to build meaning. Ready to print as a bell ringer, an AP Lit warm-up, or homework — no prep beyond hitting print.

Printable literary devices crossword puzzle with clues about metaphor, irony, foreshadowing, and other techniques
Literary devices crossword for high school, made with buildacrossword.com.
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Words used in this puzzle

What compares two unlike things directly, without "like" or "as"? | METAPHOR
What compares two unlike things using "like" or "as"? | SIMILE
What gives human qualities to an animal, object, or idea? | PERSONIFICATION
What is extreme exaggeration for effect, like "I've told you a million times"? | HYPERBOLE
What is the repetition of beginning consonant sounds, as in "Peter Piper picked"? | ALLITERATION
What is a word that imitates a sound, like "buzz" or "sizzle"? | ONOMATOPOEIA
What hints at events that will happen later in a story? | FORESHADOWING
What interrupts the present action to show an earlier event? | FLASHBACK
What is a contrast between what is expected and what actually happens? | IRONY
What is an object or image that stands for a larger idea? | SYMBOL
What is a brief reference to a well-known person, place, event, or text? | ALLUSION
What descriptive language appeals to the five senses? | IMAGERY
What is the author's attitude toward the subject or audience? | TONE
What is the feeling or atmosphere a text creates for the reader? | MOOD
What is the central message or insight about life in a work? | THEME

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Perfect for

  • Review before a literary analysis essay or test
  • Bell ringer during a poetry or novel unit
  • AP Literature or AP Language warm-up
  • Sub plan for a 9-12 English class