There are two types:

**Semantic/lexical ambiguity: The expression contains a word that has more than one meaning, and it is not clear which meaning is intended.

FOR EXAMPLE: Joe went to the bank. (The financial institution or the slope bordering a river?)

**Syntactical ambiguity: Results because of faulty grammar or word order.

FOR EXAMPLE: One morning he hugged his dog in his pajamas. (Who was wearing the pajamas? The man? The dog?)

Example Expected Response 1: 

Example:  Margie sold out.

Response:   This is an example of semantical ambiguity.    The words 'sold out' are ambiguous.  Does it mean that

Margie sold all of her inventory or does it mean that Margie sold out in the sense that she surrendered her ideals?  

Example Expected Response 2:

Example:   Headline:  Advice to Teachers and Parents on Drugs.   

Response:   This is an example of syntactical ambiguity.   One might ask:  Are they giving advice to parents and teachers about drugs?  Or, is the advice intended for teachers and parents who are on drugs? Based on the sentence structure, it can be interpreted differently.

Example Expected Response 3

Example:   Ava told Noah she was hot.

Response:   The word 'hot' is vague.   How hot is hot?   Hot for me may be different that it is for you; therefore, it is subjective and vague.

NOTE:   There are 5 examples of vagueness and 5 examples of ambiguity.   For each example you will identify if it vagueness, semantic ambiguity or syntactical ambiguity.  This component is worth five points.  You will earn five points for your explanation. 

1. Please cook this steak longer.  
2. Charles drew his gun.
3. Based on our analysis of your eating habits, we recommend that you lower your consumption of saturated fat.
4. The Raider tackle threw a block at the Giants linebacker.
5. With her enormous bottom exposed to the sky, Ellen watched the Titanic slowly sink. 
6. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. 
7. CAUTION: To avoid unsafe levels of carbon monoxide, do not set the wick on your kerosene stove too high.
8. Anyone behaving immorally will be severely punished.
9. Weather forecast:  Cloudy with a chance of rain.
10. Aunt Amy does not use glasses.