Excerpt from clashing opinions at controversial commissioners meeting
kyle ellington

sussex county, sc — tension oozed from the courthouse last night as debate raged during the bimonthly sussex county commissioner’s meeting, which centered on the most hotly debated topic in the area: a proposed strip mall. the development company, the county commissioners, and hundreds of concerned citizens gathered to deliberate on the issue.

while the meeting was intended to cover a plethora of topics, the proposed construction dominated the discussion. for four hours, attendees debated, discussed, and dissented from one another.

using this article, how could you determine the meaning of the word plethora?
a) footnotes
b) context clues
c) plot structure
d) regional dialect