Below: the Melio Connections puzzle for Sunday, June 21, 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 Sunday, June 21, 2026 below are the Melio answers, not the NYT ones.
The 16 words
AMBER
BANANA
APPLE
TANGO
BLT
SALSA
SAMBA
CORAL
WALTZ
INDIGO
IVORY
WRAP
CHERRY
REUBEN
CLUB
GRAPE
Hint ladder
Spoiler warning
Stage 1: letter spread
Today's 16 words are spread across the alphabet. The most common starting letters are C (3×), A (2×), B (2×), S (2×).
Stage 2: yellow theme
The yellow group's theme is "Fruits". 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: APPLE, BANANA, CHERRY, GRAPE.
APPLEBANANACHERRYGRAPE
Stage 4: all four themes
The four categories, in order from easiest to hardest, are: Yellow (easiest): "Fruits" · Green: "Dance styles" · Blue: "Shades that share names" · Purple (trickiest): "Sandwich types".
Stage 5: full solution
Below is the full grouping; each row is one category.