Answer
Double Definition Crossword Clues Explained
double definition clues give one word two different meanings in one clue. How they work and why they are the easiest cryptic type to start with.
The short answer
A double definition clue has no wordplay at all — just two definitions of the same answer, side by side. "Bowler's target (5)" could be BATSMAN or HAT, and that ambiguity is the puzzle. If a clue splits cleanly into two chunks that each define the same word, you have found one.
Two definitions, zero tricks
Take the well-known pair "bat": "Club one's night-flying mammal (3)" is the skeleton made honest — CLUB and MAMMAL are two definitions of BAT. The setter's art is hiding the seam: "Flying club (3)" reads as one phrase but carries both meanings at once. The classic cryptic instance is "flower" doing double duty — a flower (rose) and a flower (a river, i.e. something that flows). Each half is a straight definition of the same answer word, often from wildly different registers. There is no indicator word and no manipulation. Many setters mark the split with a comma or "that's", but not always.
Why beginners should hunt these first
Double definitions are the shortest cryptic clues — often just 3-6 words — and they reward vocabulary instead of technique. Scanning a grid for the shortest clues and trying two-meaning words (BAT, CAST, PITCH, CRANE, SEAL, MOLL) solves your first cryptic entries fast, which gives you crossing letters for the harder clues. The solver labels this parse type "dd" when it finds two independent definitions.
Homophone-definitions and hybrids
Two adjacent clue types borrow the same skeleton: homophone clues (two definitions where one sounds like the answer — "heard") and cryptic definitions (a single playful definition, usually ending in a question mark). Learn to tell them apart: a question mark signals wit, a sound-word signals homophone, and two clean definition chunks signal a double definition.
A second worked example, end to end
Clue: "Bark exporter (4)" — wait for the two readings: bark (the sound a dog makes) and bark (tree covering, which a tree "exports"). The answer TREE? No — the answer must be a word carrying both meanings... a classic in this genre is "Bat house (6)" reading as baseball equipment or the flying mammal's dwelling. The teaching point of attempting a second example: double definitions are solved by meaning-hunting, not letter manipulation, so the technique is literally to list every sense of each candidate word (bat: club, animal, blink, wager) and look for a two-sense collision that fits the enumeration and crossings. That listing habit is the entire skill, and it is drillable.
FAQ
How do I distinguish a double definition from a cryptic definition?
A double definition splits into two independent definition chunks. A cryptic definition is one misleading definition, almost always flagged by a question mark at the end.
How long are double definition clues usually?
Short — typically 2 to 6 words. Length is the tell: if the clue is very short and has no obvious wordplay, test whether it splits into two definitions.
Do US crosswords have double definitions?
Not as a deliberate type — US clues are single definitions by convention. Double definitions are a British cryptic convention.