Hyphens for Compound Words and Prefixes · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Hyphens That Change the Meaning

English · Grammar & Punctuation · ages 10-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which word means 'to get better after being sick'?

    • re-cover
    • recover
    • re cover

  2. 'Recover' and 're-cover' are two spellings of the same word and mean the same thing.

    Circle one:   True   False

  3. Which word fills the gap? 'Gran wants to ___ the old chair with new cloth.'

    • recover
    • re-cover
    • re cover

  4. Which phrase means 'a shark that eats people'?

    • man eating shark
    • man-eating shark
    • man eats shark

  5. Ava wrote: 'My neighbour is a kind hearted lady.' Where does the missing hyphen belong?

    • between 'kind' and 'hearted'
    • between 'a' and 'kind'
    • between 'hearted' and 'lady'

  6. Which word fills the gap? 'The star player agreed to ___ with the club for another year.'

    • resign
    • re sign
    • re-sign

  7. Maria re-covered her sofa with new fabric. What does 're-covered' mean here?

    • She put a new cover on the sofa
    • She found the sofa she had lost
    • She felt better after resting on the sofa

  8. Jia wrote: 'My aunt is a small business owner.' Without a hyphen, what funny misreading could someone make?

    • Jia's aunt owns a business that is small
    • Jia's aunt runs a market stall
    • Jia's aunt is a small person who owns a business

  9. In the phrase 'a little-used path', why does the writer add a hyphen?

    • to show the path is hardly ever used
    • to make the phrase longer
    • because every describing word needs a hyphen

  10. Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

    • We need an up to date map.
    • We need an up-to-date-map.
    • We need an up-to-date map.
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Hyphens That Change the Meaning W1-mt_QpmVikVaqY-s1

  1. recover · 'Recover' has no hyphen and means to get better or get something back.
  2. False · The hyphen splits them into two different words: 'recover' means to get better or get something back, and 're-cover' means to put a new cover on something.
  3. re-cover · Putting new cloth on a chair means giving it a new cover, so the word needs the hyphen: 're-cover'.
  4. man-eating shark · The hyphen joins 'man' and 'eating' into one describing word, so 'man-eating shark' means a shark that eats people.
  5. between 'kind' and 'hearted' · 'Kind' and 'hearted' are two parts of one describing word before the noun 'lady', so the hyphen goes between them: 'kind-hearted'.
  6. re-sign · Signing for another year means signing again, so the word needs the hyphen: 're-sign'. 'Resign' with no hyphen would mean quitting.
  7. She put a new cover on the sofa · With the hyphen, 're-covered' means Maria put a new cover on the sofa, not that she recovered something she lost.
  8. Jia's aunt is a small person who owns a business · With no hyphen, 'small' can grab onto 'owner', so the sentence can be misread as an aunt who is small, instead of a business that is small.
  9. to show the path is hardly ever used · The hyphen joins 'little' and 'used' into one describing word meaning hardly ever used. Without it, a reader might picture a little path that is used.
  10. We need an up-to-date map. · 'Up-to-date' is a three-part describing word before the noun 'map', so its parts join with hyphens. The noun 'map' stays outside the hyphens.
Worksheet · LightMySky