In English vocabulary, a sentence whose meaning is unclear or can be understood in more than one way is called what?

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: Ambiguous

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This question tests your understanding of a key term from grammar and semantics. In language study, we often come across sentences that can be read in more than one way, causing confusion. Such sentences are described with a particular adjective. Knowing this word is important for error spotting, reading comprehension, and writing clearly.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • The stem describes a sentence whose meaning is unclear.
  • Ambiguous means having more than one possible meaning or open to different interpretations.
  • Anonymous means without a name or with an unknown name.
  • Unanimous means showing complete agreement among all members of a group.
  • Congruent usually means matching, in agreement, or of equal shape and size in mathematics.


Concept / Approach:
The correct term for a sentence that can be interpreted in multiple ways and whose meaning is not clear is ambiguous. Ambiguity often results from poor word order, missing punctuation, or vague wording. The other options belong to completely different semantic areas: identity (anonymous), agreement (unanimous), and correspondence or equality (congruent). Therefore, ambiguous directly answers the definition provided in the question.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the key idea in the stem: the meaning of the sentence is unclear.Step 2: Recall that ambiguous means unclear or having more than one possible interpretation.Step 3: Examine anonymous and note that it is used when the name of the author or person is not known, as in an anonymous letter.Step 4: Examine unanimous; it describes a situation where everyone is in complete agreement, as in a unanimous decision.Step 5: Examine congruent, which is often used in mathematics and logic to show that two things match or align. None of these match the idea of unclear meaning, leaving ambiguous as the only correct option.


Verification / Alternative check:
Consider an example sentence: Visiting relatives can be annoying. This can mean relatives who visit are annoying, or visiting them is annoying. Because the structure supports both interpretations, the sentence is ambiguous. Grammar books refer to such cases as examples of ambiguity. Anonymous would instead be used in a sentence like The article was published anonymously, where the author name is not given. These examples confirm that ambiguity is about unclear meaning, not about name or agreement.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Anonymous refers specifically to the absence of a name, not to unclear meaning. Unanimous refers to total agreement within a group and has no direct relation to how a sentence can be understood. Congruent implies harmony or equality between items and is often used in geometry or logic. None of these expresses the idea of multiple possible interpretations within a single sentence.


Common Pitfalls:
Some learners confuse ambiguous with anonymous because both end with the same syllable ous, or they misremember the prefix un in unanimous as indicating confusion. The best way to avoid this is to link each word to a clear mental image: ambiguous equals double meaning, anonymous equals no name, unanimous equals all hands raised in agreement. This helps recall the correct term quickly in exam conditions.


Final Answer:
A sentence whose meaning is unclear or can be taken in more than one way is called Ambiguous, so option B is correct.

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