Approaches both Poles, eating a bit of corn (5)
I believe the answer is:
nears
'approaches' is the definition.
(I know this)
'both poles eating a bit of corn' is the wordplay.
'both poles' becomes 'ns' (North and South poles. I am not sure about the 'both' bit.).
'eating' indicates putting letters inside.
'a bit of corn' becomes 'ear' ('ear' is part of 'corn').
'ns' going around 'ear' is 'NEARS'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nears that I've seen before include "is approaching" , "Saner (anag.)" , "Moves towards" , "Draws close" , "Gets closer" .)