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PUN:
A play on words that are either identical in sound (homonyms)
or very similar in sound, but are sharply diverse in meaning.
Puns have had serious literary uses. In Catholicism: “Thou art
Peter and upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew
16:10); Peter = petros; rock = petra.
Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare used puns seriously as well as
comically.
In the 18th century and after, puns have been used almost
exclusively as a comic device.
A special type of pun is called an equivoque; it’s the use of a
single word or phrase which has two disparate meanings, in a
context which makes both meanings equally relevant. For
example: “He checked his cash, cashed in his checks, and left
his window” (epitaph for a bank teller).
(M.H. Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms, 6th edition, 173)
Pun
A play on words that relies on a word’s having more than one meaning or
sounding like another word. Shakespeare and other writers use puns
extensively, for serious and comic purposes; in Romeo and Juliet
(III.i.101), the dying Mercutio puns, "Ask for me tomorrow and you shall
find me a grave man." Puns have serious literary uses, but since the
eighteenth century, puns have been used almost purely for humorous
effect. See also comedy.
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_p.htm