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Double-meaning pun

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A play on words that exploits multiple meanings or similar sounds for humorous or rhetorical effect

Detailed Definition
Double-meaning pun is a wordplay device where a single word or phrase carries two simultaneous interpretations—one literal, one figurative or homophonic—creating layered meaning or humor; for example, “grave” can denote both a burial site and serious demeanor, allowing poets to compress complex ideas into economical, resonant expressions that reward close reading.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare’s “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man” (Romeo and Juliet)—“grave” meaning both serious and dead; Donne’s “Get with child a mandrake root” plays on “get” as both conceive and obtain; In “Richard III,” “Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer” uses “sun”/“son” pun; Oscar Wilde’s “Earnest”/“Ernest” in The Importance of Being Earnest hinges on double meaning
Additional Notes
Double-meaning puns exploit homonyms or polysemous words for layered effect; used seriously by Shakespeare and Donne, playfully by Wilde; avoid in formal verse unless intentional; effective for irony, wit, or thematic depth
Also Known As
Homonymic pun equivocal wordplay lexical double entendre semantic bifurcation Janus wordplay
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