Tot playing in a pen, in the home (7)
I believe the answer is:
cottage
'the home' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'tot playing in a pen' is the wordplay.
'playing' indicates an anagram.
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'a pen' becomes 'cage' (I've seen this before).
'tot' is an anagram of 'ott'.
'ott' put within 'cage' is 'COTTAGE'.
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cottage that I've seen before include "Small house, in the country say" , "Small home" , "bungalow" , "Cheese pie industries all may chase this" , "Small place" .)