Distribute a great deal, by the sound of it (5)
I believe the answer is:
allot
'distribute a great deal' is the definition.
'allot' can be an answer for 'distribute' (synonyms). I am not certain of the 'a great deal' bit.
'by the sound of it' is the wordplay.
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'the sound of' becomes 'allo' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'it' becomes ''t' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis).
'allo'+'t' is 'ALLOT'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for allot that I've seen before include "Give, apportion" , "grant" , "Dedicate" , "Apportion (something to someone)" , "Parcel out, assign" .)