Words that have different meanings

What are polysemic words?

The word polysemy (la polisemia in Spanish) refers to having more than one meaning. 

There are lots of polysemic words in Spanish, just as there are in English and other languages. For example, the word "bat" in English can refer to the nocturnal flying mammal, to the club or paddle used in sports, or to a stick, among other meanings. 

You can only know through the context of the sentence and/or the situation which meaning is attributed to the polysemic word. 

For example, here, it's clear by the context that I am referring to the animal: 

However, here, I'm using the same word but am clearly referring to sports equipment:

Polysemic words can be of different grammatical categories, for example nouns, adjectives or verbs. 

Polysemic nouns in Spanish

There are lots of polysemic nouns in Spanish. Let's look at some examples:

gato: 1. cat; 2. jack 

acento: 1. accent (regional); 2. orthographic accent

banco: 1. bank; 2. bench

Polysemic adjectives in Spanish

Some Spanish adjectives can also have more than one meaning. Here are some examples:

seco: 1. dry (not humid); 2. curt (character)

naranja: 1. orange (color); 2. orange (fruit)

cómoda; 1. comfortable (fem. adj.); 2. chest of drawers

cara; 2. expensive (fem. adj.); 2. face

Here is a small selection of words that can have different meanings:

List of nouns with different meanings depending on gender in Spanish

Polysemic verbs in Spanish

As well as nouns and adjectives, there are verbs that have different meanings. Generally, these verbs are used in a slightly different way each time, for example, being part of a more complex verbal structure, part of a phrase, with a specific preposition, in a very specific context, etc.

Learning about the different meanings of a word helps improve the students narrative when they practise Spanish by speaking or writing. 

Here is a small selection of some Spanish polysemic verbs that are very useful to learn.

Spanish polysemic verb "pasar"

Using different examples, you can see how pasar can mean different things depending on the context and how the verb is used:

Pasar is used as "coming in/entering a place". 

 Here pasar means "to happen":

Pasar can also mean "to drop/pass by/pop in" a place. Notice how in this case we use it with the reflexive pronoun (pásate) and also with the preposition "por" before saying the place. It's a set expression "pasarse por [un lugar]"

Here, pasar refers to "forgetting something",  as an expression that uses: se + ind.obj. pronoun + pasar 

Here's a more comprehensive List of Spanish expressions using the verb pasar

Spanish polysemic verb "tirar"

Using different examples, you can see how tirar can mean different things depending on the context and how the verb is used:

Tirar has a very common meaning: "to throw / throw away [something]"

Tirar also means "to pull":

Tirarse (en) also means to lie down, you can lie down on the sofa (en el sofá), on the bed (en la cama), on the floor (en el suelo)... It's more colloquial than "tumbarse".

Be careful with certain expressions that can be a little rude when using the verb tirarse (pronominally) because we have expressions like:

Here's a more comprehensive List of expressions using the verb tirar(se) in Spanish

Spanish polysemic verb "cargar"

Cargar is another of those verbs that are used in different contexts and in different ways. Let's see some examples to show the versatility of this very useful Spanish verb.

One common meaning of cargar is "to load"; you can load a weapon, a truck, an animal...

Used colloquially, you can say that someone is annoying [to someone] by using cargar with an indirect object pronoun.

In some parts of Latin America, the verb cargar can also mean "to wear" or "to carry".

Here's a more comprehensive list of Spanish verb expressions: cargar(se)

Spanish polysemic verb "tocar"

The most literal and common meaning of the verb tocar is "to touch" (general meaning):

But depending on which specific expression you use with the Spanish verb tocar you'll find a variety of meanings. Here are some of these expressions:

Meaning "to really annoy someone":

Expressing "somebody's turn":

To say that someone has "hit rock bottom":

When you "play an instrument":

When someone is "knocking on the door":

There are many other expressions and uses of the verb tocar. 

See also a more comprehensive list of Spanish expressions with "tocar"

Lessons with more detail on Palabras Con Diferentes Significados (Words that have different meanings )

• Spanish verb Aprovechar vs Aprovecharse (pronominal verbs)
• Spanish verb Encontrar vs Encontrarse (pronominal verbs)
• Spanish verb Jugar vs Jugarse (pronominal verbs)
• Spanish verbs Acordar vs Acordarse (pronominal verbs)
• Spanish verbs Animar vs Animarse (pronominal verbs)
• Spanish verbs Dejar vs Dejarse (pronominal verbs)
• Spanish verbs Dormir vs Dormirse (pronominal verbs)
• Spanish verbs Quedar, Quedarse and Quedarle (Different meanings of verb quedar)
• Spanish verbs Llevar vs Llevarse (pronominal verbs)
• Spanish verbs Perder/perderse (pronominal verbs)
• Different meanings of the Spanish verb contar
• Spanish verb "faltar": different meanings
• Spanish verb sobrar: different meanings
• Some adjectives change meaning in Spanish when used with ser or estar