Esta palavra tem outro sentido.

Because palavra is a feminine singular noun, and esta has to agree with it.

• este = masculine singular
• esta = feminine singular
• estes = masculine plural
• estas = feminine plural

So:

• esta palavra = this word

You would use essa palavra for that word (near the person you are speaking to, or already mentioned), and aquela palavra for that word over there / that more distant word.

In European Portuguese, this three-way distinction is still part of the standard system:

• este/esta = this
• esse/essa = that
• aquele/aquela = that over there

Because esta already works as the determiner.

In English, we say this word, not the this word. Portuguese works the same way here:

• esta palavra = correct
• a esta palavra = only possible in other structures, where a is a preposition, not just an article
• a esta palavra tem... = not correct in this sentence

So in Esta palavra tem outro sentido, esta is doing the job that this does in English.

Tem is the 3rd person singular of the verb ter (to have) in the present tense.

Conjugation of ter in the present:

• eu tenho
• tu tens
• ele/ela/você tem
• nós temos
• vós tendes
• eles/elas/vocês têm

Here, the subject is esta palavra, which is singular, so the verb must also be singular:

• Esta palavra tem... = This word has...

In Portuguese, both can exist, but outro sentido is the more natural and neutral choice here.

• Esta palavra tem outro sentido. = natural, standard
• Esta palavra tem um outro sentido. = also possible, but can sound a bit more emphatic, like another particular meaning

Very often, Portuguese uses outro/outra without an article:

• Quero outro café.
• Ela tem outra ideia.
• Esta palavra tem outro sentido.

So if you are unsure, outro sentido is the safest option here.

Although sentido can mean several things, here it means sense or meaning.

Common meanings of sentido include:

• meaning / sense
• direction
• feeling / sensation in some contexts

Examples:

• Esta frase não faz sentido. = This sentence doesn’t make sense.
• Em que sentido? = In what sense?
• Sentido único. = One-way direction

So in this sentence, sentido means something like sense/meaning, not physical direction.

They overlap, but they are not always identical.

• significado is often closer to meaning in the dictionary or literal sense
• sentido often refers to sense, interpretation, or the meaning something has in a given context

In many sentences, either word could work:

• Esta palavra tem outro significado.
• Esta palavra tem outro sentido.

But there can be a slight nuance:

• significado = more lexical, dictionary-style
• sentido = more contextual, interpretive

In your sentence, sentido sounds very natural.

This is the normal, neutral Portuguese word order:

subject + verb + object/complement

• Esta palavra = subject
• tem = verb
• outro sentido = complement

So the sentence is built very straightforwardly.

You can change the order, but that usually adds emphasis or sounds more literary/marked:

• Outro sentido tem esta palavra. = unusual, emphatic, literary
• Tem outro sentido, esta palavra. = possible in speech with special intonation, but not the neutral version

For learners, the original sentence is the standard pattern to use.

In European Portuguese, tem has a nasal sound.

A rough approximation is:

• tem ≈ tãyn or teng said nasally, though neither is exact

Important points:

• the e is not pronounced like a clear English eh
• the ending is nasal
• it is different from têm, although in modern speech the difference may be subtle depending on the speaker

Compare:

• ele tem = he/she has
• eles têm = they have

European Portuguese pronunciation tends to reduce unstressed vowels, so the whole sentence may sound more compressed than a learner expects.

A rough European Portuguese pronunciation guide would be something like:

Es-ta pa-LA-vra tãy O-tru sen-TI-du

A few useful notes:

• esta: the first e is often reduced
• palavra: the stressed syllable is la
• tem: nasal
• outro: often sounds closer to ôtru
• sentido: stress on ti

A more careful approximation:

• Esta ≈ shta / es-ta depending on speed and speaker
• palavra ≈ puh-LA-vruh
• tem ≈ nasal tãj
• outro ≈ OH-tru
• sentido ≈ sẽ-TI-du

This is only approximate, but it helps show the main stress pattern: esta paLAvra tem OUTro senTIdo

Yes. In Portuguese, it is completely normal to say that a word has a meaning, a sense, another sense, etc.

Examples:

• Esta palavra tem vários significados.
• A expressão tem outro sentido em Portugal.
• Isso tem sentido.

English also allows this:

• This word has another meaning.

So grammatically and idiomatically, there is nothing unusual about palavra being the subject of tem.

Yes, absolutely.

That version is also correct and natural:

• Esta palavra tem outro significado.

The difference is mostly nuance:

• sentido = sense, interpretation, contextual meaning
• significado = meaning, especially lexical or dictionary meaning

In many everyday situations, the two are close enough that either one works.

In fast European Portuguese speech, esta is often pronounced in a reduced way, but it is not normally changed in writing.

In careful writing:

• esta palavra

In fast speech, the vowel may weaken, and it can sound closer to:

• 'shta palavra
• or a reduced eshta

This is a pronunciation issue, not a grammar change. As a learner, you should still write esta in full.

Not naturally in this context.

Even though sentido can mean direction, the phrase uma palavra tem outro sentido is strongly understood as a word has another meaning/sense.

Context controls the meaning. Since the subject is palavra, the interpretation meaning is the obvious one.

If you were talking about physical direction, you would normally need a different context or different wording.

Yes, very naturally, especially when discussing vocabulary, translation, ambiguity, or regional usage.

For example:

• Em Portugal, esta palavra tem outro sentido.
• No contexto jurídico, esta palavra tem outro sentido.
• Cuidado: esta palavra tem outro sentido no Brasil.

So this is a very useful sentence pattern to learn:

• X tem outro sentido
• X tem outro significado
• X faz sentido
• Em certo contexto, X tem um sentido diferente