Some words do double duty. A bat can fly out of a cave or hit a ball; bark can be on a tree or come from a dog. At Double Meaning Market, Year 4 readers learn to use the rest of the sentence to choose the right meaning.
What your child will learn
- Know that one spelling can have more than one meaning
- Use the other words in a sentence to choose the right meaning
- Find one word that fits two different sentences
- Enjoy jokes and riddles that play on double meanings
Let the sentence decide
On its own, “light” could mean not heavy, not dark or a lamp. In “the feather is very light”, only one of those makes sense. Good readers hold the possibilities in mind and let the other words settle it.
Why jokes work
Many jokes depend on a word with two meanings: “Why did the teacher wear sunglasses? Because her pupils were so bright!” Explaining why a joke is funny is real vocabulary work.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. In “A bat flew out of the cave.”, what does “bat” mean?
- A flying animal
- A kind of hat
- A loud noise
- A stick for hitting a ball
Show answer
Answer: A flying animal. Caves and flying tell us this bat is the animal.
2. In “She wore a gold ring.”, what does “ring” mean?
- A boxing square
- A band worn on a finger
- The sound of a bell
- A phone call
Show answer
Answer: A band worn on a finger. Gold and wearing point to jewellery.
3. In “The feather is very light.”, what does “light” mean?
- Something that shines
- To set on fire
- Pale in colour
- Not heavy
Show answer
Answer: Not heavy. A feather weighs very little, so light means not heavy.
Tips for grown-ups
- Take turns making two sentences for one word: “a wave at the beach”, “a wave goodbye”.
- Look a word up in a children’s dictionary and count its numbered meanings.
- Share jokes and riddles and talk about which word has the double meaning.