| 100% | GRAPHITE | 8 | Substance used as the "lead" in pencils |
| 62% | GRAPHITE | 8 | The lead in pencils, actually |
| 58% | AGAR | 4 | Substance used as thickener in foods |
| 58% | TARTARIC | 8 | — acid, substance found in grapes used in the food industry as an antioxidant |
| 56% | STARRED | 7 | To have appeared as the lead in a movie or play |
| 53% | MCKENZIE | 8 | Julia —, actress who replaced Geraldine McEwan as the lead in ITV series Agatha Christie's Marple |
| 53% | STARRING | 8 | Acting as the lead (in) |
| 52% | LSD | 3 | Substance used in the CIA mind-control operation Project MKUltra |
| 52% | SAX | 3 | Instrument often used as the "J" in a "Jazz Club" sign |
| 51% | PLACEBO | 7 | No-effect substance used in drug trial as control |
| 51% | OREO | 4 | Cookie that's used as the "dirt" in dirt pudding |
| 51% | ODE | 3 | Type of poem often used as the first word in the poem's title |
| 51% | TANNIN | 6 | Yellowish or brownish organic substance used in the leather industry |
| 51% | PEAS | 4 | Veggies used as weapons in the game "Plants vs. Zombies" |
| 51% | NGALIEMA | 8 | Bay used as a port for Kinshasa in the DRC |
| 50% | BOLTS | 5 | Hardware items used as currency in the video game "Ratchet & Clank" |
| 50% | BEESWAX | 7 | Substance from the hive used in candles and polish |
| 50% | ASHTONKUTCHER | 13 | "That '70s Show" actor who replaced Charlie Sheen as the lead actor in 5-Across : 2wds. |
| 49% | STBERNARD | 9 | A.K.C. breed used as a rescue dog in the Alps |
| 49% | CURD | 4 | Substance used in cheese-making formed from the coagulation of milk by acid or rennet |
| 49% | QUEBRACHO | 9 | South American tree such as the Red — whose wood is used in tanning |
| 49% | BOTTLECAPS | 10 | Twist-off tops used as currency in the video game "Fallout" (2 wds.) |
| 48% | TESTSFOR | 8 | Tries to detect, as a substance in the body |
| 48% | PARANG | 6 | Short straight-edged knife used as a weapon and tool in the Malay archipelago |
| 48% | AERIE | 5 | Class of starships used as colony ships and surveyors commissioned in the year 2347 |
| 48% | GUMARABIC | 9 | Substance exuded by various acacia trees used in the manufacture of adhesives |
| 47% | AMBERGRIS | 9 | Waxy substance used in perfume manufacture secreted by the intestinal tract of the sperm whale |
| 47% | AOL | 3 | ISP used by the lead characters in 1998's "You've Got Mail" |
| 46% | ACACIA | 6 | Tree which yields gum arabic, used as a thickening agent and stabilizer in the food industry |
| 46% | ULEE | 4 | Lead role in the film known in France as "L'Or de la Vie" |