Equivocation
One word used in two different senses.
What it is
Equivocation uses one word with two meanings. The argument only works if the word means the same thing both times. When the meaning shifts, the logic breaks.
On test day this often hides in a short, smooth-sounding argument. The giveaway is a key term that quietly changes meaning between the premises and the conclusion.
An LSAT-style example
This example is original. It is not a real LSAT question.
A bank is a safe place to keep money. A river bank is a bank. Therefore a river bank is a safe place to keep money.
The flaw: 'Bank' means a financial institution in the first sentence and the edge of a river in the second. The conclusion borrows a meaning the premise never gave it.
How to spot it on test day
- Find the key term. Ask whether it means the same thing every time it appears.
- The argument feels airtight until you pin down the word’s meaning.
- Common shifters: abstract words like 'free,' 'natural,' and 'fair,' or technical terms used loosely.
The right answer vs. the trap
The right answer
The correct answer says the argument uses a term in two different senses.
The trap
The trap may call it a bad analogy or an unsupported generalization. Those miss the specific move: the word itself changed meaning.
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