Reportedly exploit sheep (4)
I believe the answer is:
ewes
'sheep' is the definition.
(a ewe is a female sheep)
'reportedly exploit' is the wordplay.
'reportedly' shows a homophone (sound like).
'exploit' becomes 'use' (use can mean to exploit).
'use' sounds like 'EWES'.
(Other definitions for ewes that I've seen before include "Female sheep" , "farm animals" , "members of flock" , "Adult sheep" , "She-sheep" .)