Combining clues

Most puzzles give you more than one clue. Each clue on its own fits many words; the answer is the one word that fits all of them at once.

Clue 1: CRATE

R, A and E are green, giving _ R A _ E. C and T are gray. Among common five-letter words, 10 fit this clue on its own: BRAKE, BRAVE, DRAKE, DRAPE, ERASE, FRAME, GRADE, GRAPE, GRAVE, GRAZE.

Clue 2: GRIPE

G is green, so the answer starts with G. P is green in fourth place. I is gray. That pins the pattern to G R A P E, and only 1 common word survives both clues: GRAPE.

Clue 3: DRAPE

The third clue confirms it: D is gray and the rest of DRAPE lines up with the pattern. The answer is GRAPE.

The general method

1. Merge the greens. Different clues often fix different positions. Write all of them into one pattern.
2. Merge the yellows. Collect every letter that must appear, and every position it's banned from. A letter that's yellow in two clues is banned from both positions.
3. Merge the grays. Combine them into one list of excluded letters, minding repeats.
4. Fill and test. With the pattern, the required letters and the banned letters, there are usually only a handful of words to try. Check each one against every clue.

Notice that clue 2 did most of the work here, even though clue 1 has more greens. A clue's value depends on what it adds to what you already know. When you're stuck, look for the clue you've used least.