It can make a hole in bad pears (5)
I believe the answer is:
spear
'it can make a hole' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'bad pears' is the wordplay.
'bad' indicates an anagram.
'pears' with letters rearranged gives 'SPEAR'.
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for spear that I've seen before include "Weapon; asparagus stem" , "Asparagus shoot" , "Primitive weapon" , "pierce with this?" , "Impale" .)