Crossword Genius

Work on reported poverty (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

knead

'work' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'reported poverty' is the wordplay.
'reported' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'poverty' becomes 'need' (need is a kind of poverty).
'need' is a homophone of 'KNEAD'.

'on' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for knead that I've seen before include "Work dough or massage flesh" , "Work with finger movements" , "Work together" , "Massage - naked (anag)" , "Work flour into dough manually" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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