Name Figures of Speech

Figures of Speech: Puns

A pun is a joke that exploits the different possible meanings of a word or
the fact that the words that sound alike but have different meanings. Read each
sentence. Identify the pun. Then briefly explain it on the line below each.

1. My best friend is a glue salesman. He always sticks to his word.

2. No matter how much you push the outside of the envelope, it will still be
stationary.

3. Why couldn’t the bicycle stand on its own? It was two tired.

4. Ben is so pessimistic his blood type is B negative.

5. When our dog gave birth in the park she got a ticket for littering.

6. Ben was shocked to wake up in the hospital and hear that he had been struck
by lightening.

7. The cartoonist says his job is a prison; he spends all day working on a cel.

8. Santa arrived at the party just in the Nick of time.

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 Name Figures of Speech

Time to be Punny
like

A pun is a joke that exploits the different possible meanings of a word or the fact
that the words that sound alike but have different meanings.

EXAMPLE: carry on/carrion

A vulture isn’t allowed to get on a plane because he exceeds the
carry on limit.

DIRECTIONS: Write a sentence using the words provided to create a pun.

1. coop/coupe

___________________________________________________________________

2. cel/cell
___________________________________________________________________

3. muscle/mussel

___________________________________________________________________

4. red/read

___________________________________________________________________

5. bard/barred

___________________________________________________________________

6. digest/digest

___________________________________________________________________

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 Name Figures of Speech

What is a Pun?
A pun is a joke that exploits the different possible meanings of a word or the fact
that the words that sound alike but have different meanings. Read each sentence.
Identify the pun. Then briefly explain it in the box below each.

1. Jane spend her vacation sunbathing and reading novels. By the time she got back home she
was well red.

2. I offered a clown my seat on the bus because I thought it would be a nice jester.

3. We like to party with the construction workers because they really raise the roof.

4. What is the chicken farmer’s favorite kind of car? A coupe.

5. I’m not much of a breakfast eater, but I do find a boiled egg first thing in the morning hard to
beat.

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Name Figures of Speech

Irony
Irony means using words to describe something in a way that is other
than it seems. Irony is often sarcastic. It is used both in general
conversation and in the media, and often appears in the form of a
metaphor or a simile.

EXAMPLE: The students were about as orderly as a herd of cats.

The students were about as orderly as a herd of cats.

DIRECTIONS: Read each sentence. Find the irony. Underline it.

1. Her explanation was as clear as mud.

2. They took the car so they would get there on time, but it accelerated like a go
cart.

3. The party was as much fun as plucking out my nose hairs.

4. The house was as well kept as a cardboard box under an overpass.

5. That meal was about as satisfying as a Styrofoam cookie.

6. We did the project with the enthusiasm of death row prisoners.

7. She kept her cool as well as a car with a broken water pump.

8. When we walked in the room our reception was as warm as ice cream.

9. The last question on the test was as easy as solving world hunger.

10. Her mind is about as sharp as a Nerf bullet.

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