Semantic ambiguity

Semantic ambiguity occurs when a sentence has multiple possible meanings, which can arise from various sources including lexical and syntactic factors.

Example: “Update the app after the window closes”

• Does the user close the window, or does it close automatically?

Semantic ambiguity is often the result of combining different types of linguistic ambiguity (lexical, syntactic) within a single utterance.

Related: Lexical ambiguity, Syntactic ambiguity, On ambiguity