how do u deal with words having 50 meanings??

so im trying to study this word and it means like flexible but ALSO illegal??? wait maybe i got the translation wrong. anyway how do you guys deal with words having like 50 meanings because im losing my mind trying to flashcard them all. actually maybe it was history class where i saw it? no wait. what was i asking again? oh yeah do you just learn the first definition or do you try to memorize the WHOLE list