Grassy area providing shelter, by the sound of it (3)
I believe the answer is:
lea
'grassy area' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'shelter by the sound of it' is the wordplay.
'shelter' becomes 'lee' (I've seen this before).
'by the sound of it' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'lee' sounds like 'LEA'.
'providing' is the link.
(Other definitions for lea that I've seen before include "Open arable land (poet.)" , "authority for teachers" , "Meadowland" , "River flowing through London" , "Open grassy land; river" .)