Question

In one to two sentences, explain which example is a homophonic pun and how you know.

1. "This hospital is known for having a lot of patience."

2. "The library has so many stories, it has become the tallest building in town."

Answer 1

Example 1 is a homophonic pun: it plays on the words "patients" (people in a hospital) and "patience" (tolerance), which sound the same but have different meanings. Example 2 is a double-meaning (polysemous) pun using different senses of "stories" (tales vs building floors).