Consider these examples:

I love pizza.

I love you (think about how this would be different depending on who you were saying it to).

I love my family.

I love that song.

Love is a many splendoured thing.

All’s fair in love and war.

Love means never having to say you’re sorry.

I love you, but I’m not in love with you.

Make love, not war.

Feel like making love to you.

So, you see, context is everything!

How can they all mean the same thing?

Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful, but the English language is not very exact when it comes to that particular word! Greek has four different words all translated to ‘love’, Spanish has two. French has one word that covers the English ‘love’ and ‘like.’ How do they know the difference? Context!

A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.

A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance.

Sexual passion.

Sexual intercourse.

A love affair.

An intense emotional attachment, as for a pet or treasured object.

A person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction; beloved. Often used as a term of endearment.

An expression of one’s affection: Send him my love.

A strong predilection or enthusiasm: a love of language.

The object of such an enthusiasm: The outdoors is her greatest love.

**but i believe that it really depends on each person…