Ready for some brain-teasing fun? Get your students thinking (and laughing) with this great list of riddles for kids. We’ve got easy ones for younger kids, plus some downright tricky hard riddles (with answers!) for older students. Plus, find riddles about animals, math, science, and some that are just for fun!
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Easy Riddles for Kids (K-3)
These riddles involve a little wordplay and logic, but the answers are fairly straightforward. They’ll challenge younger students but won’t feel downright impossible.
1. What has a head and tail but no body?
A coin.
2. What goes up and down but doesn’t move?
A staircase.
3. What has a neck but no head?
A bottle.
4. What has many teeth but can’t bite?
A comb.
5. I have a face and hands but no legs. What am I?
A clock.
6. What has a ring but no finger?
A telephone.
7. What gets wetter when it dries?
A towel.
8. What has to be broken before you can eat it?
An egg.
9. What has words but never speaks?
A book.
10. What is always coming but never arrives?
Tomorrow.
11. What month of the year has 28 days?
All months have at least 28 days.
12. What is always answered without being questioned?
A doorbell.
13. What has legs but cannot walk?
A stool.
14. What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive?
A glove.
15. What two things can you never eat for breakfast?
Lunch and dinner.
16. What goes up but never comes down?
Age.
17. What is used by others but only belongs to you?
Your name.
18. Where will you find Friday before Thursday?
In a dictionary.
19. What can you catch but not throw?
A cold.
20. What can you hold in your left hand but not in your right?
Your right elbow.
21. Bobby’s mother has three children: Snap, Crackle, and ___?
Bobby.
22. What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never thinks, and has a bed but never sleeps?
A river.
23. What gets bigger the more you take away?
A hole.
24. If you threw a black stone into the Red Sea, what would it become?
Wet.
25. What four-letter word can be written the same forward and backward, as well as upside down?
NOON.
26. What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
The future.
27. What’s black and white and read all over?
A newspaper.
28. What has keys but opens no locks, space but no room, and you can enter but not go in?
A keyboard.
29. When the water comes down, I go up. What am I?
An umbrella.
Hard Riddles for Kids (Grades 4-6)
As kids get older, they can tackle more challenging brainteasers that require a little more knowledge. This roundup of hard riddles (with answers) is perfect for pushing them to think creatively!
30. What begins with “p,” ends with “e,” and has thousands of letters?
The post office.
31. I shave every day, but my beard stays the same. What am I?
A barber.
32. I am easy to lift but hard to throw. What am I?
A feather.
33. I will fill a room but take up no space. What am I?
Light.
34. I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?
Your breath.
35. Everyone has one, but no one can lose it. What is it?
A shadow.
36. If you don’t keep me, I’ll break. What am I?
A promise.
37. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Footsteps.
38. What loses a head in the morning, but gets it back at night?
A pillow.
39. What would you call a man who does not have all fingers on one hand?
Normal, because humans have fingers on both hands.
She was standing on the bottom rung.
41. How many animals did Moses take on the ark?
Zero. Noah took them.
42. Amy threw the ball as hard as she could and it came back to her, without anything or anyone touching it. How?
She threw the ball upward into the air.
43. What has one eye but can’t see?
A needle.
44. You walk into a room that has a match, a candle, and a fireplace. Which should you light first?
The match.
45. A cowboy rode into town on Friday. He stayed for three nights and rode out on Friday. How is this possible?
His horse’s name is Friday.
46. A woman called her horse from the opposite side of a river. The horse crossed the river without getting wet and without using a boat or bridge. How?
The river was frozen.
47. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
The letter “m.”
48. You see a boat filled with people. It has not sunk, but when you look again, you don’t see a single person on the boat. Why not?
They’re all married.
49. What comes at the end of everything?
The letter “g.”
50. What is so fragile that saying its name will make it break?
Silence.
51. What has many keys but cannot unlock a single door?
A piano.
Very Hard Riddles for Kids (Grades 7+)
These super-tricky riddles are bound to stump at least some of your students. They’ll need a strong vocabulary and the ability to think flexibly about the words involved. Don’t worry—these are very hard riddles, but we’ve provided the answers too!
52. What English word has three consecutive double letters?
Bookkeeper.
53. What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
Short.
54. What word begins and ends with “e” but only has one letter?
Envelope.
55. You won’t see me at all in March, May, or January, but catch me once in June and twice in November. What am I?
The letter “e.”
56. Which word in the dictionary is always spelled incorrectly?
Incorrectly.
57. What 7-letter word is spelled the same backward and forward?
Racecar.
58. I start with “t,” end with “t,” and have “t” in me. What am I?
A teapot.
59. Kids can make it but never hold it or see it. What is it?
Noise.
60. I go around the world but never leave the corner. What am I?
A stamp.
61. My life is measured in hours and I serve you by expiring. I’m quick when I’m thin and slow when I’m fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I?
A candle.
62. Is it possible for a woman to go 10 days without sleeping?
Yes, she will sleep at night.
63. Three men jump into the water, but only two come out with wet hair. Why?
The third man is bald.
64. If you have it, you want to share it. If you share it, you don’t have it. What is it?
A secret.
65. People buy me to eat, but I cannot be eaten. What am I?
A plate.
66. In a single-story house, there is a green chair, green bed, green computer, green couch, green flowers, green carpet, and green table. What color is the staircase?
There is no staircase—it’s a single-story house.
67. What has holes all over but still holds water?
A sponge.
68. What question can you never answer yes to?
Are you asleep yet?
Animal Riddles for Kids
These silly but fun riddles are all about animals—and kids love animals! Try these brainteasers with kids of any age. Plus, check out 101 Hoot-larious Animal Jokes and 40 Paws-itively Hilarious Dog Jokes for Kids.
69. What happens when a sheep studies karate?
Lamb chops.
70. My teddy bear is never hungry. Why?
He’s stuffed.
71. Which fish costs the most?
A goldfish.
72. What two keys cannot open any doors?
Monkey and donkey.
73. What’s a frog’s favorite game?
Leapfrog.
74. How do you catch a school of fish?
With a bookworm.
75. What is as big as an elephant but weighs nothing?
An elephant’s shadow.
76. What is it called when a dinosaur makes a soccer goal?
A dino-score.
77. Who wears shoes while sleeping?
A horse.
Math Riddles for Kids
These riddles put a clever spin on the usual word problem—by playing around with words! Want more math laughs? Try these 125 math jokes and puns for kids!
78. I add 5 to 9 and get 2. The answer is correct, so what am I?
A clock. When it is 9 a.m., adding 5 hours would make it 2 p.m.
79. Which number stays the same no matter what number you multiply it with?
0.
80. An electric train is heading east at 400 mph. How fast will the smoke blow?
Electric trains do not produce smoke.
81. How many times can you subtract 10 from 25?
Once. After you subtract 10 from 25 the first time, it becomes 15.
82. What are eight 8s that add up to 1,000?
8 + 8 + 8 + 88 + 888 = 1,000.
83. Rachel goes to the supermarket and buys 10 tomatoes. Unfortunately, on the way back home, all but 9 get ruined. How many tomatoes are left in good condition?
9.
84. When my father was 30 years old, I was 9 years old. Now I am 40 years old, so what is my father’s age now?
61.
85. How do you make the number 7 even without adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing?
Delete the “S.”
86. What comes before 11 and after 15?
10 and 16.
87. When Rebecca was 8 years old, her little brother, Bob, was half her age. If Rebecca is 20 years old today, how old is Bob?
16.
88. What can you put between 4 and 5 so that the result is more than 4 but less than 5?
A decimal.
89. If 2 is company and 3 is a crowd, what are 4 and 5?
9.
90. When is 1500 plus 20 and 1600 minus 40 the same thing?
When it’s military time.
Science Riddles for Kids
These riddles are the perfect formula for fun. Keep the science laughs going with these 125 Cheesy Science Jokes.
91. What is made of water but if you put it into water, it will die?
An ice cube.
92. The more of this there is, the less you can see. What is it?
Darkness.
93. What is at the end of a rainbow?
The letter “w.”
94. I’m not in Venus or Neptune, but you can find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus. What am I?
The letter “r.”
95. I have no life, but I can die. What am I?
A battery.
96. What has a heart that doesn’t beat?
An artichoke.
97. What has cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and rivers but no water?
A map.
98. What comes down but never goes up?
Rain.
99. What has many needles but does no sewing?
A pine tree.
100. I am not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air; I don’t have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
Fire.
Funny Riddles for Kids
These brainteasers will make kids think … and laugh! Find 128 more funny riddles here.
101. Which letter of the alphabet has the most water?
The “c.”
102. What kind of room has no walls, doors, or windows?
A mushroom.
103. What building has the most stories?
A library.
104. How do you make the word “one” disappear?
Add a “g” in front and it’s gone!
105. What game is dangerous for your mental health?
Marbles—you don’t want to lose them.
106. Where do you take a sick boat?
To the dock-tor.
107. Why did the golfer put on a second pair of pants?
Because he got a hole in one.
He wanted his quarterback.
109. How do shells get around the ocean?
A taxi crab.
110. Imagine you are trapped in a closet with a locked door. How will you get out?
Stop imagining.
111. What did the sea say to the sand?
Nothing, it just waved.
112. What is the fastest way to double your money?
Place it in front of a mirror.
113. If a red house is made with red bricks, a blue house is made with blue bricks, and an orange house is made with orange bricks, what is a greenhouse made of?
Usually glass, so plants can grow more easily.
114. What has a bottom at the top?
Your legs.
115. What invention lets you look right through a wall?
A window.
116. When things go wrong, what can you always count on?
Your fingers.
117. What always tastes better than it smells?
Your tongue.
118. Ari asked different people the same question all day long. Each person gave him a different answer, but each one was correct. What was the question?
What time is it?
119. What is the richest nut?
The cash-ew.
120. What do you call the father of fruits?
Papa-ya.
121. How many seconds are in a year?
12: January 2, February 2, March 2 …
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