What is a single word describing this type of statement?

Question

Scenario: A gang from the west of the USA wants to kill gang members from the east of the USA. The gang from the west meet a gang member from the east and ask:

'Where are you from?'

The gang member from the east replies:

'From the west.'

But he intends to mean 'the western world' so he said something intending a different meaning than that of the meaning in the minds of those he was addressing, thus fooling them, and saving himself.

Is there a term for this type of linguistic/semantic strategy?

Note: no offense to people from the USA

Answer 1

When an answer can be interpreted different ways, especially with intent to deceive, it's an equivocal answer, and the act of answering this way is equivocation.