| 100% | RESEDA | 6 | L.A. neighborhood referenced in Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" |
| 71% | RESEDA | 6 | L.A. section mentioned in Tom Petty's "Free Fallin' " |
| 71% | RESEDA | 6 | L.A. suburb mentioned in Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" |
| 43% | SHES | 4 | First word of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" |
| 42% | TOM | 3 | "Free Fallin'" artist, ___ Petty who cameoed in "The Postman" as a Bridge City Mayor |
| 41% | FREE | 4 | Tom Petty’s “___ Fallin’” |
| 38% | RESEDA | 6 | Los Angeles suburb mentioned in the Tom Petty song "Free Fallin'" |
| 35% | FREEATLAST | 10 | Spiritual referenced in King's "I Have a Dream" speech |
| 35% | MAJOR | 5 | Tom's rank in a David Bowie song |
| 35% | CITES | 5 | References in a footnote |
| 34% | ELNETT | 6 | L'Oréal's strong hairspray in a golden can |
| 34% | LOCATOR | 7 | The L in a website's URL |
| 34% | CITES | 5 | References in a research paper |
| 34% | WATER | 5 | Drink that's often free in a restaurant |
| 33% | FREEFALLIN | 10 | Tom Petty hit with the opening line "She's a good girl, loves her mama" |
| 33% | SNOUT | 5 | Tom —, tinker in William Shakespeare play A Midsummer Night's Dream |
| 33% | HARMONICA | 9 | Free reed wind instrument that's a staple in country music |
| 33% | PVT | 3 | Ryan's rank in a Tom Hanks film: Abbr. |
| 33% | NOHO | 4 | Neighborhood in New York or L.A. |
| 33% | NICKS | 5 | Singer Stevie who performed with Tom Petty in London's Hyde Park in 2017 |
| 33% | MARCO | 5 | Polo referenced in a pool |
| 32% | PVT | 3 | Ryan's rank in a Tom Hanks movie, for short |
| 32% | NYT | 3 | Sullivan's opponent in a landmark free speech case: Abbr. |
| 32% | IWONTBACKDOWN | 13 | Tom Petty song with the line "In a world that keeps on pushin' me around" (4 wds.) |
| 32% | SOURCEMATERIAL | 14 | Work referenced in a research paper |
| 32% | ASTOR | 5 | Eponym of a neighborhood in Queens |
| 32% | UNSEAL | 6 | Free, in a way |
| 32% | UNPEG | 5 | Free, in a way |
| 32% | UNYOKE | 6 | Free, in a way |
| 32% | UNTIE | 5 | Free, in a way |