She means a lot to her father (3)
I believe the answer is:
pam
'she' is the definition.
'a lot to her father' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is within the answer.
'lot' could be 'm' and 'm' is present in the answer.
A single letter 'p' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'means' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pam that I've seen before include "- Ayres, English poet" , "Female" , "Short girl's name" .)