Funny and Easy English Jokes for Students and ESL Beginners

Looking for a way to make your English lessons more fun? Whether you’re a student learning English or a teacher looking to lighten the mood in class, these 30 clean and easy jokes are perfect for beginners. They’re short, simple, and easy to understand — and they’ll help with vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation too!

👉 If you want even more jokes, check out our Jokes by Category or Alphabetical Joke List.

30 Funny and Easy English Jokes for Students and ESL Beginners

Here are 30 clean and simple English jokes for students. They are perfect for ESL learners. Each joke comes with a short explanation, comprehension questions, and a teaching tip to help integrate it into your classroom.

Joke #1

Why is six afraid of seven?
Because 7 8 9.

• Why it’s funny: “Eight” sounds like “ate,” so it sounds like 7 ate 9.
• Ask your students:
  • What does “ate” mean?
  • Why is 9 afraid?

Teach with this: Homophones, simple past tense.

Joke #2

What do you call a dinosaur that is sleeping?
A dino-snore.

• Why it’s funny: A pun combining “dinosaur” and “snore.”
• Ask your students:
  • What does “snore” mean?
  • What happens when people sleep?

Teach with this: Vocabulary (animals, sleep), word formation.

Joke #3

Why did the student bring a ladder to school?
Because she wanted to go to high school!

• Why it’s funny: “High school” can also mean a school that is literally high up.
• Ask your students:
  • What is “high school”?
  • Why might someone need a ladder?

Teach with this: School vocabulary, double meanings.

Joke #4

Why did the computer go to the doctor?
Because it had a virus.

• Why it’s funny: “Virus” can mean both a sickness and a computer problem.
• Ask your students:
  • What kind of virus do people get?
  • Can computers get sick?

Teach with this: Technology vocabulary, homonyms.

Joke #5

What’s the difference between a cat and a comma?
One has claws at the end of its paws. The other is a pause at the end of a clause.

• Why it’s funny: Wordplay on “clause/pause” and “claws/paws.”
• Ask your students:
  • What is a comma used for?
  • Can you define “clause”?

Teach with this: Grammar (punctuation), homophones, parts of speech.

Joke #6

Teacher: What is the past tense of “I buy food”?
Student: I ate it!

• Why it’s funny: “Buy” and “eat” are different verbs, but the student answers with what really happened.
• Ask your students:
  • What is the past tense of “buy”?
  • What verb did the student use?

Teach with this: Simple past tense, common irregular verbs.

Joke #7

What do you call cheese that’s not yours?
Nacho cheese.

• Why it’s funny: Sounds like “Not your cheese.”
• Ask your students:
  • What does “nacho” sound like?
  • Do you know what nachos are?

Teach with this: Food vocabulary, listening for sound similarities.

Joke #8

Why did the bicycle fall over?
Because it was two-tired.

• Why it’s funny: “Two-tired” sounds like “too tired.”
• Ask your students:
  • What happens when someone is tired?
  • How many tires does a bike have?

Teach with this: Homophones, transportation vocabulary.

Joke #9

What do you get when you cross a snowman and a dog?
Frostbite.

• Why it’s funny: Wordplay — “frost” (snow) + “bite” (dogs bite).
• Ask your students:
  • What is “frostbite”?
  • How is it related to snow and dogs?

Teach with this: Winter vocabulary, compound words.

Joke #10

Past, Present, and Future walk into a bar…
It was tense.

• Why it’s funny: Grammar pun on “tense” (time) and “tense” (feeling).
• Ask your students:
  • What are tenses in grammar?
  • What else can “tense” mean?

Teach with this: Grammar (tenses), double meanings.

Joke #11

Why can’t your nose be 12 inches long?
Because then it would be a foot.

• Why it’s funny: “Foot” is both a unit of measurement and a body part.
• Ask your students:
  • How long is a foot?
  • Is your nose ever that long?

Teach with this: Measurement vocabulary, homonyms.

Joke #12

What’s brown and sticky?
A stick.

• Why it’s funny: The word “sticky” is misunderstood as an adjective; it’s actually a noun.
• Ask your students:
  • What does “sticky” usually mean?
  • What else could be brown and sticky?

Teach with this: Wordplay, adjectives vs. nouns.

Joke #13

What did one wall say to the other wall?
I’ll meet you at the corner!

• Why it’s funny: Walls meet at the corner in a room — pun on physical movement.
• Ask your students:
  • Where do two walls meet?
  • Can walls talk?

Teach with this: Prepositions of place, personification.

Joke #14

Why did the verb cross the road?
To agree with the subject.

• Why it’s funny: A twist on the classic chicken joke — but with grammar humor.
• Ask your students:
  • What is subject-verb agreement?
  • Why does a verb need to agree with the subject?

Teach with this: Grammar (subject-verb agreement).

Joke #15

What do you call a bear with no teeth?
A gummy bear.

• Why it’s funny: Gummy bears are candy, and “gums” are what you have when you have no teeth.
• Ask your students:
  • What are “gums”?
  • Have you heard of gummy bears?

Teach with this: Animal vocabulary, food, wordplay.

Joke #16

Why don’t eggs tell jokes?
Because they might crack up.

• Why it’s funny: “Crack up” means both to laugh hard and to break.
• Ask your students:
  • What happens when you crack an egg?
  • What does it mean to “crack up” laughing?

Teach with this: Idioms, food vocabulary.

Joke #17

What do you call a fish without eyes?
Fsh.

• Why it’s funny: It’s a pun — the word “eyes” is missing from “fish.”
• Ask your students:
  • How do you spell “fish”?
  • What happens if you remove “i”?

Teach with this: Spelling, pronunciation, wordplay.

Joke #18

What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock.

• Why it’s funny: “Hands” refer to the moving parts of a clock.
• Ask your students:
  • What are the “hands” of a clock?
  • Why can’t a clock clap?

Teach with this: Telling time vocabulary, idioms.

Joke #19

Why did the teacher wear sunglasses in class?
Because her students were so bright!

• Why it’s funny: “Bright” means both smart and full of light.
• Ask your students:
  • What are two meanings of “bright”?
  • Is it a compliment?

Teach with this: Compliments, double meanings.

Joke #20

What do you call a fake noodle?
An impasta.

• Why it’s funny: “Impasta” sounds like “imposter.”
• Ask your students:
  • What is an impostor?
  • What does “pasta” mean?

Teach with this: Food vocabulary, pronunciation, wordplay.

Joke #21

Why did the scarecrow win an award?
Because he was outstanding in his field.

• Why it’s funny: A pun — “outstanding” means excellent, but also literally standing out in a field.
• Ask your students:
  • What does “outstanding” mean?
  • What does a scarecrow do?

Teach with this: Double meanings, idioms, farming vocabulary.

Joke #22

Why can’t Elsa from Frozen have a balloon?
Because she will let it go.

• Why it’s funny: Reference to the song “Let It Go” from Frozen, which also applies to letting go of a balloon.
• Ask your students:
  • Do you know the song “Let It Go”?
  • What happens when you let go of a balloon?

Teach with this: Pop culture references, vocabulary (let/go), cause and effect.

Joke #23

What kind of tree fits in your hand?
A palm tree.

• Why it’s funny: “Palm” refers to both a kind of tree and the inside of your hand.
• Ask your students:
  • What is your “palm”?
  • Have you heard of a palm tree?

Teach with this: Homonyms, nature vocabulary, body parts.

Joke #24

What kind of music do mummies listen to?
Wrap music.

• Why it’s funny: “Wrap” sounds like “rap” — mummies are wrapped in bandages.
• Ask your students:
  • What kind of music sounds like “wrap”?
  • What are mummies wrapped in?

Teach with this: Homophones, music and history vocabulary.

Joke #25

What did the English book say to the math book?
“I have too many problems!”

• Why it’s funny: Double meaning of “problems” — emotional troubles or math exercises.
• Ask your students:
  • What kind of problems does a math book have?
  • Can “problems” also mean difficulties?

Teach with this: Vocabulary (problems), multiple meanings.

Joke #26

Why do we never tell secrets on a farm?
Because the potatoes have eyes and the corn has ears!

• Why it’s funny: Wordplay on “eyes” of potatoes and “ears” of corn — body parts and plant parts.
• Ask your students:
  • Do potatoes really have eyes?
  • What are “ears” of corn?

Teach with this: Parts of plants, idioms, metaphor.

Joke #27

How do you organize a space party?
You planet.

• Why it’s funny: “Planet” sounds like “plan it.”
• Ask your students:
  • What does “plan” mean?
  • What is a planet?

Teach with this: Wordplay, space vocabulary, verbs vs. nouns.

Joke #28

What do you get if you cross a vampire with a snowman?
Frostbite.

• Why it’s funny: A pun combining “frost” (cold) and “bite” (vampire attack).
• Ask your students:
  • What is “frostbite”?
  • What do vampires do?

Teach with this: Compound words, weather vocabulary, Halloween themes.

Joke #29

Why did the cookie go to the doctor?
Because it felt crummy.

• Why it’s funny: “Crummy” means both full of crumbs and feeling bad.
• Ask your students:
  • What are crumbs?
  • What does “crummy” mean in slang?

Teach with this: Food vocabulary, idiomatic expressions.

Joke #30

What do you call a dog magician?
A labracadabrador.

• Why it’s funny: A mix of “Labrador” (dog breed) and “abracadabra” (magic word).
• Ask your students:
  • What kind of dog is a Labrador?
  • What do magicians say?

Teach with this: Animals, creative word blending, magic vocabulary.

How to Use These Jokes in the ESL Classroom

Jokes are more than just a fun distraction — they’re a great teaching tool! Here are several ways you can use them effectively:

Want More ESL Jokes?

Explore more clean English jokes in these collections:

• Jokes by Category (Grammar, School, Animals, Food, etc.)
• Jokes A to Z

Final Tip

Humor is a great way to learn! These easy jokes make English more fun and less intimidating. They help learners:

• Practice speaking and listening skills.
• Develop reading skills.
• Better understand grammatical structures.
• Learn new vocabulary.
• Have fun and enjoy learning the language.