Tangled ropes can be a problem (5)
I believe the answer is:
poser
'be a problem' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'tangled ropes' is the wordplay.
'tangled' indicates anagramming the letters.
'ropes' is an anagram of 'POSER'.
'can' is the link.
(Other definitions for poser that I've seen before include "Tricky question" , "Sticky problem" , "one who has airs and graces" , "Maybe model" , "Problem set by the model" .)