It’s all about the delivery
I came up with a new joke format last night. (At least it’s new to me). Here’s an example:
Me: Reid, what do you call a meteor that hits the ground?
Reid: I don’t know, what?
Me: A meteorite!
If you deliver it well, it will take your audience some time to understand that you simply gave the definition of a word, and then used the word as the punch line.