Appeals said to gratify (5)
I believe the answer is:
pleas
'appeals' is the definition.
(plea is a kind of appeal)
'said to gratify' is the wordplay.
'said' shows a homophone (sound like).
'to gratify' becomes 'please' (pleasing is a kind of gratifying).
'please' is a homophone of 'PLEAS'.
(Other definitions for pleas that I've seen before include "Excuses, pretexts" , "Entreats" , "Urgent entreaties" .)