The purpose of the article is to analyse the types of metaphors applied by teachers to explain the graphic representations of functions while introducing the subject to the high-school students. The authors also examine whether teachers are aware of the use of metaphors in their instruction. The theoretical basis is the theory embodied cognition. The metaphors found in the teachers’ instruction are of orientational and ontological types. The authors also identified ‘fictive motion’ metaphorization, as well as interaction of metaphors.