A duck on the lake’s centre, in a wood (3)
I believe the answer is:
oak
'a wood' is the definition.
(oak is a kind of wood)
'a duck on the lake's centre' is the wordplay.
'a duck' becomes 'o'.
'on' says to put letters next to each other.
'centre' indicates the central letters.
The middle letters of 'lake' are 'ak'.
'o'+'ak'='OAK'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for oak that I've seen before include "Hard durable wood of a deciduous tree" , "From little acorns does it grow" , "Traditional British tree" , "Strong hardwood" , "The King of the Forest" .)