| 100% | BETTER | 6 | Jude should make a sad song this |
| 46% | JUDE | 4 | He was told to "take a sad song and make it better" |
| 41% | POUT | 4 | Make a sad face |
| 39% | SOB | 3 | React to a sad song |
| 37% | POUTS | 5 | Makes a sulking face, looks sad |
| 37% | STEW | 4 | A beef might make you do this |
| 36% | FUSSES | 6 | Makes a to-do about this and that |
| 35% | ILL | 3 | "___ Make a Man Out of You" ("Mulan" song) |
| 35% | LISPS | 5 | They make a song sound like a thong |
| 35% | SOWSEAR | 7 | Impossible to make a silk purse from this |
| 34% | DROPTHEBALL | 11 | Make a mistake ... or a clue to this puzzle's theme |
| 34% | MOLEHILL | 8 | One shouldn't make a mountain out of this |
| 34% | INS | 3 | Drive-___ (movie theaters that made a comeback this year) |
| 34% | MUSTARD | 7 | Dijon makes a classic sharp one with these seeds |
| 34% | LEMONADE | 8 | Kids might make a stand for this |
| 34% | CHRYSALIS | 9 | A caterpillar makes this shell for metamorphosis |
| 34% | ACRES | 5 | A lot can be made of these |
| 34% | PRACTICE | 8 | A common saying, this makes perfect |
| 33% | OPTS | 4 | Makes a choice [and one more example of this puzzle's theme] |
| 33% | TENT | 4 | A big flap may be made about this |
| 33% | ANR | 3 | This will make a wok work? |
| 33% | OCEAN | 5 | "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" singer Billy |
| 33% | MINAJ | 5 | Rapper Nicki who made a guest appearance at Coachella this year |
| 33% | ALLWORK | 7 | This, and no play, make Jack a dull boy |
| 33% | THEPLANK | 8 | A pirate might make you walk this as punishment |
| 33% | BIRDNEST | 8 | This soup is made with a swiftlet's home |
| 32% | BONEMARROW | 10 | You can often make a medical donation of this as an outpatient |
| 32% | WUTHERING | 9 | These Heights are a Brontë novel or Kate Bush song |
| 32% | AGO | 3 | "We should have done this a long time ___" |
| 32% | WICKED | 6 | Defying Gravity is a song from this musical |