Ambiguity refers to unclear, vague, or double meanings in language. Lawyers try to avoid ambiguity in contracts by making language very precise, but this can make contracts difficult for non-lawyers to understand. Ambiguity can also refer to moral dilemmas where it is unclear which of two options is right or wrong, such as whether to help a friend who asks you to cheat. Examples are given of ambiguous sentences that could have more than one interpretation and discussions of ambiguity in historical agreements, personal letters, and uses of the term "gene".

1. Ambiguity
Something with ambiguity is unclear. Think about the sentence, "Jill saw the man with
binoculars." If you are wondering whether Jill or the man had the binoculars, you are noticing
the ambiguity, or the double meaning, of this sentence.
Lawyers word contracts to avoid ambiguity, but in doing so prevent anyone who is not a lawyer
from understanding what they have written! If you can't choose between two decisions because
both seem somehow wrong, you are dealing with moral ambiguity. Imagine if a friend who has
helped you out many times asks you to cheat. It's wrong to cheat but it also seems wrong not to
help someone who has been there for you.
Ambiguity
/ˌæmbɪˈɡjuːɪtɪ/
noun (pl) -ties
1. the possibility of interpreting an expression in two or more distinct ways
2. an instance of this, as in the sentence they are cooking apples
3. vagueness or uncertainty of meaning: there are severalambiguities in the situation
Example :
 There is some ambiguity in the Bible story, and it has been interpreted in different ways.
 The law ought to be tightened to avoid any ambiguity.
 Is he now saying that he's in favour of going to war? His statement is full of ambiguity.
 Let me say this, to avoid any ambiguity, - I am not leaving my wife.
 Be as precise as possible in your answer, so that there is no ambiguity.
Examples of ambiguity in a sentence
1. A third factor amping your desire to speed things along: Despite the euphoria of those
first kisses and dates, the initial stages of infatuation can be incredibly unsettling. “You
aren't sure yet where you stand with your mate, so you're anxious to shake the
ambiguity,” explains Regan. —Molly Triffin et al., Cosmopolitan, January 2008

2. 2. The troubles in the Empire at the turn of the seventeenth century have often been laid at
the door of the Peace of Augsburg. While it is true that the 1555 agreement papered over
some unsolvable problems and contained ambiguities and loopholes, it had been
conceived as a pragmatic compromise, and it did succeed in preserving the peace in
Germany for one generation. —Alison D. Anderson, On the Verge of War, 1999
3. Her letters and diaries describe her own feelings of insecurity and worries about her
possible fate if she could no longer work, and they also tell us a great deal about the
ambiguity of her position within the society in which she lived, and her determination to
defend and maintain her own status. —Joanna Martin, A Governess In the Age of Jane
Austen, 1998
4. Above the level of molecular biology, the notion of “gene” has become increasingly
complex. The chapter in which Ridley addresses the ambiguities of this slippery word is
an expository tour de force. He considers seven possible meanings of gene as used in
different contexts: a unit of heredity; an interchangeable part of evolution; a recipe for a
metabolic product; … a development switch; a unit of selection; and a unit of instinct. —
Raymond Tallis, Prospect, September 2003
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambiguity
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ambiguity
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ambiguity