Carmen, for example, knotted a rope (5)
I believe the answer is:
opera
'carmen' is the definition.
(Carmen is an example)
'knotted a rope' is the wordplay.
'knotted' is an anagram indicator.
'a'+'rope'='arope'
'arope' anagrammed gives 'OPERA'.
'for example' is the link.
(Other definitions for opera that I've seen before include "Met show?" , "Staged event" , "Eg, Don Giovanni" , "works in Latin" , "Eg, The Magic Flute" .)