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Extra Lesson Time? ⏳ Play with English Puns

Frances Chan
(Updated )
Extra Lesson Time? ⏳ Play with English Puns

Next time you have a free-talk lesson with a student or extra time at the end, see if they're down to put their English skills to the test with some puns!

“But, Tutor, what are puns?”

First, you might have to explain what puns are. Here's how you can do that:

  • Puns are a common type of wordplay based on the sounds and meanings of words.
  • Some puns are jokes, but most of the time they're not; for example, when they're used in news headlines, social media posts, commercials, they're not always jokes.
  • Puns have a long history in the English language – Shakespeare made lots of them!
  • Learning puns has many benefits for language learners. In addition to being a memorable way to build vocabulary, research has also found that practice deciphering puns helps raise learners’ language awareness and makes them more relaxed and motivated to learn.

But as the saying goes, "showing is better than telling." So below are some examples, separated by level, that you can use to introduce your students to the wonderful world of puns.

Puns for Beginners

Below are some visual puns that you can have beginner students figure out.

Image says "Don't Worry Be Happy" but instead of the word "be," there's an image of a bumblebee
Image says "Do not stress, just do your best!" but instead of "Do not", it says "Donut". There's a picture of a donut in the middle.

Here are some pun-based riddles that use A1-A2 vocabulary:

  1. Why is 6 afraid of 7?
  2. What can you catch but not throw?
  3. At the beach, you can see waves. What about at a tiny beach?
  4. What days of the week are the strongest?
  5. What letters are not in the alphabet?
  6. What's black and white and red?

The fifth one is actually one of the most well-known riddles in the US! Anyways, here are the answers:

  1. Because 7 8 (ate) 9
  2. A cold
  3. Microwaves
  4. Saturday and Sunday, because the rest are weekdays (weak days)
  5. The letters in the mail.
  6. Newspapers (they're "read")

Puns for Intermediate Learners

Here are some visual puns that use language at the B1-B2 level for intermediate learners.

Image says "We're rooting for you" with drawings of various root vegetables: a radish, a beet, and a carrot.
Image says "I don't carrot all" with a carrot wearing sunglasses.

Now here are some riddles:

  1. What starts with T, ends with T, and is full of T?
  2. What do astronauts do before throwing a party in space?
  3. What has four wheels and flies?
  4. Identify the pun: “I can’t stand sitting.”
  5. Identify the pun: “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.” (You can show them this picture as a hint.)

Here are some answers and explanations.

  1. Teapot (The word “teapot” starts and ends with the letter T and is full of tea!)
  2. They planet (“plan it”)
  3. Garbage trucks
  4. The word “stand” has two meanings. The more basic one is to stand up. However, the phrase “I can’t stand … .” means “I don’t like … .” So this pun means “I can’t stand while sitting” and “I don’t like sitting.”
  5. “Time flies like an arrow” is an expression about how quickly time passes. The second sentence is a double-pun on the words “flies” (the noun not the verb) and “like” (“to enjoy”)

Puns for Advanced Learners

See how many puns your advanced students can find in the picture below:

You "crack me up" written on an egg with a crack through it. And the egg itself had to be cracked open.

For advanced learners, you can introduce puns that use C1 to C2 level vocabulary as well as slang.

  1. What flowers grow under your nose?
  2. What’s a snake’s favorite subject?
  3. Identify the pun: "Bugs really bug me."
  4. Identify the pun: “Atheism is a non-prophet institution." – George Carlin

Answers:

  1. Tulips (two lips) grow under your nose.
  2. Snakes love history (hiss-tory – snakes “hiss”).
  3. To "bug" someone is to bother them. So this pun means, "Bugs really bother me."
  4. “Non-prophet institution” is a pun on “non-profit institution.” Atheism means believing there is no god, so of course atheists also don’t need prophets!

Pun-Related Discussion Questions

If you've gone through some puns together and want to talk about them, here are some relevant questions.

  1. What was your favorite pun? What was your least favorite pun? Why?
  2. Which pun did you find the most difficult? Why?
  3. Do you like puns in general? Why? Why not?
  4. Why do you think puns are used in English news headlines and commercials? What are the benefits of this?
  5. The editors of the British newspaper, the Guardian, once tried to ban puns in their news headlines. What do you think about this?
  6. Are puns common in your culture?

👋 That’s it for now!

We hope you found this extra activity idea helpful and fun!

If you're looking for more activities to do with students at the end of a lesson, don't forget about our previous suggestions:

Happy tutoring!