Below: the Melio Connections puzzle for Monday, March 30, 2026, a progressive hint ladder so you can work toward the solution without spoiling it, and the full color-coded grouping if you want the answer outright.
Heads up: Melio’s Connections grids are independently authored. The answers for Monday, March 30, 2026 below are the Melio answers, not the NYT ones.
The 16 words
RULER
CRANE
SCORPION
LOTUS
CRAB
WAVE
PEN
EYE
SAND
STAPLER
DRAGON
SHELL
ELBOW
TAPE
FOOT
HEEL
Hint ladder
Spoiler warning
Stage 1 — letter spread
Today's 16 words are spread across the alphabet. The most common starting letters are S (4×), C (2×), E (2×), P (1×).
Stage 2 — yellow theme
The yellow group's theme is "Office supplies". That's the easiest grouping; pick the four words that fit and you're a quarter of the way through.
Stage 3 — yellow group reveal
The four yellow words are: STAPLER, PEN, TAPE, RULER.
STAPLERPENTAPERULER
Stage 4 — all four themes
The four categories, in order from easiest to hardest, are: Yellow (easiest): "Office supplies" · Green: "Yoga or martial arts moves" · Blue: "Body parts (also verbs)" · Purple (trickiest): "Things on a beach".
Stage 5 — full solution
Below is the full grouping — each row is one category.