Organisms that sound like someone you'd enjoy hanging out with

FUNGI

Think of decomposers that thrive in damp places and share their name with a word meaning "plural of fungus"—they’re not plants or animals, but they’re everywhere in nature.

This clue plays on the word "fungi" sounding like "fun guys"—as in, people who are enjoyable to be around. The wordplay hints at the double meaning: while "fungi" refers to organisms like mushrooms, it also phonetically mimics the phrase for friendly, fun-loving people. It’s a classic example of a homophone pun where the answer’s pronunciation tricks you into thinking of a completely different (but related-sounding) idea.