Polyvalence is the condition of bearing multiple values, meanings, or interpretations simultaneously. A polyvalent sign, concept, or structure does not resolve into a single determinate meaning but sustains several at once — not as ambiguity (failure to determine) but as constitutive multiplicity.
In semiotics, polyvalence describes signs whose meaning cannot be reduced to a single referent or interpretation. A symbol may function differently in different contexts while remaining the same sign — its polyvalence is not an accident to be resolved but a feature of how signification works. This is distinct from mere ambiguity, where one meaning is intended and others are noise.
In political and cultural theory, polyvalence describes how the same practice, institution, or symbol can serve contradictory functions. A legal right may simultaneously enable resistance and legitimate the system that produces the conditions being resisted. This structural polyvalence means that political analysis cannot evaluate a practice by its content alone — the same content operates differently depending on its relational position.