How does a pun create humor through more than one meaning of a word?

A pun creates humor by utilizing a word in a way that suggests two or more of its meanings, or by using words that sound similar to create a play on words.12

This effect relies on the collision of two distinct frames of reference—or "strings of thought"—that are linked together by an acoustic connection. When a word with multiple definitions is used, the listener or reader is forced to hold both interpretations in their mind simultaneously. The humor arises from the incongruity between these two meanings, as the logic governing each frame of reference clashes.3

For example, when Groucho Marx remarked, "We shot two bucks, but that was all the money we had," the joke hinges on the dual meaning of the word "buck" (referring to both a male deer and a dollar). By forcing the audience to reconcile these disparate concepts, the pun creates a sudden, comic shift in perspective.3