Final answer:
Shakespeare used wordplay and puns to cleverly play with multiple meanings and engage the audience.
Step-by-step explanation:
One way in which Shakespeare used words in a distinctive and clever way was through his extensive use of wordplay and puns.
He would often use words with multiple meanings and create clever and witty plays on words. For example, in his play 'Romeo and Juliet', Mercutio says, 'Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man', where 'grave' has the dual meaning of being serious and being in a tomb. This use of wordplay adds depth and complexity to the language and helps to engage and entertain the audience.
Learn more about Shakespeare's use of wordplay and puns