Had spied five entering in the early morning (4)
I believe the answer is:
seen
'had' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with communicating as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I don't see?
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for seen that I've seen before include "Perceived by sight" , "Met - understood" , "Viewed" , "Spotted" , "Observed or percieved" .)