115 Tricky riddles for clever kids (with answers in case you get stumped)
There's nothing like seeing a child untangle a riddle. They search the words for clues, try to turn over any puns or double meanings, then light up with delight if they finally figure something out — or furrow their brows in frustration if they get stumped. In that way, it's hard to find the line between a riddle and a good joke, since riddles can sometimes end in peals of laughter.
But having a good time isn't the only benefit to telling riddles for kids. A 2019 study showed that introducing riddles in a year three classroom set the stage for the development of the logical-mathematics thinking in later years. "This was possible because students put into practice skills: observation, deduction, experimentation and argumentation," the study notes.
Ready to get their brains working? This list, which has a good mix of easy-to-answer options as well as head-scratchers that even adults might struggle to figure out, not only can keep the young ones occupied on their own when you're stuck in line somewhere or need a quick fix to keep the kids busy, they also provide the opportunity for collaboration and quality time if you decide to take it on together.
Tricky riddles for children
Q: You’re running a race and, just before the finish line, you pass the person in second place. In what place did you finish the race?
A: Second place.
Q: The one who makes me cannot use me. The one who buys me will always buy me for someone else. The one who uses me doesn't know it. What am I?
A: A coffin.
Q: What has 13 hearts, but no lungs, feet or bellybuttons?
A: A deck of cards.
Q: Grandpa went for a walk, and it started raining. He forgot to bring an umbrella and didn’t have a hat. When he got home, his clothes were soaking wet, but not a hair on his head was wet. How was this possible?
A: Grandpa is bald.
Q: What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
A: Short.
Q: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have nobody, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?
A: An echo.
Q: What is always in front of you but can never be seen?
A: The future.
Q: What is full of holes but still holds water?
A: A sponge.
Q: What can you catch but not throw?
A: A cold.
Q: What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, and has a bed but never sleeps?
A: A river.
Q: In a one-story house at the corner of the road, the bedrooms were yellow, the kitchen was orange, the living room was red, the garage was blue, the entry hall was green, and the sitting room was purple. What color were the stairs?
A: There’s no color because there are no stairs — it’s a one-story house.
Q: What has one eye, but can’t see?
A: A needle.
Q: What breaks as soon as you say its name?
A: Silence.
Q: What starts with a ‘P’, ends with an ‘E’, and has thousands of letters?
A: A post office
Q: What runs all around the back garden but never moves?
A: A fence.
Q: Two mothers and two daughters are riding in a car, yet there are only three people there. How?
A: They are a grandmother, a mother and a daughter.
Q: Give me a drink, and I will die. Feed me, and I'll get bigger. What am I?
A: A fire.
Q: What's one thing that tastes better than it smells?
A: Your tongue.
Q: What word begins with E and ends with E, but only has one letter?
A: Envelope.
Q: I have no wings, but I can fly. I have no eyes, but I can cry. What am I?
A: A cloud.
Q: What kind of coat is better when it's put on wet?
A: A coat of paint.
Q: What appears once in a minute, twice in a moment, but not once in a thousand years?
A: The letter "M."
Q: What has many rings but no fingers?
A: A telephone.
Q: What goes up but never comes back down?
A: Your age.
Q: I go all around the world, but never leave the corner. What am I?
A: A stamp.
Q: If you drop a yellow hat in the Red Sea, what does it become?
A: Wet.
Q: I’m always on the dinner table, but you don’t get to eat me. What am I?
A: Plates and cutlery.
Q: What goes in a birdbath but never gets wet?
A: The bird's shadow.
Q: What two things can you never eat for breakfast?
A: Lunch and dinner.
Q: What begins with T, ends with T and has T in it?
A: A teapot.
Q: If you drop me, I’m sure to crack, but smile at me and I’ll smile back. What am I?
A: A mirror.
Q: What has hands and a face, but no arms or legs?
A: A clock.
Q: You’ll find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars and Jupiter, but not in Venus or Neptune. What am I?
A: The letter “R.”
Q: I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?
A: A breath.
Q: I have cities, but no houses. I have forests, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?
A: A map.
Q: What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
A: A promise.
Q: What is yours but mostly used by others?
A: Your name.
Q: Which question can you never answer "yes" to?
A: "Are you asleep?"
Q: What's something that, the more you take, the more you leave behind?
A: Footsteps.
Q: What can go up a chimney down, but can’t go down a chimney up?
A: An umbrella. It only fits when it's closed, or down!
Animal riddles for kids
Q: I sleep during the day and fly at night, but I have no feathers to aid my flight. What am I?
A: A bat.
Q: How many animals did Moses take on the ark?
A: None. Noah took them.
Q: I have no sword, I have no spear, yet rule a horde which many fear, my soldiers fight with a wicked sting, I rule with might, yet am no king. What am I?
A: A queen bee.
Q: I have arms that are longer than my legs. I have been taught sign language to communicate. Who am I?
A: A gorilla.
Q: I like to stay awake at night and sleep during the day. What am I?
A: An owl.
Q: My skin is green and slippery, I have four legs and webbed feet, I hop on land and swim underwater, I love bugs and little fish to eat. What am I?
A: A frog.
Q: The alphabet goes from A to Z, but I go Z to A. What am I?
A: A zebra.
Q: A rooster is sitting on the roof of a barn facing west. If it laid an egg, would the egg roll to the north or to the south?
A: It's impossible — roosters don't lay eggs.
Q: A cowgirl road into town on Friday. Three days later, she left on Friday. How is that possible?
A: Friday is the name of her horse.
Q: What kind of lion never roars?
A: A dandelion.
Q: What has a thousand needles but cannot sew?
A: A porcupine.
Q: Without me Thanksgiving and Christmas are incomplete, when I’m on the table everyone tends to overeat. What am I?
A: Turkey.
Q: What’s bright orange with green on top and sounds like a parrot?
A: A carrot.
Q: Why do bees have sticky hair?
A: Because they use their honeycombs.
Q: What do you call a bear with no teeth?
A: A gummy bear.
Q: What’s black, white and blue?
A: A sad zebra.
Q: I jump when I walk and sit when I stand. What am I?
A: Kangaroo.
Q: I grow down as I grow up. What am I?
A: A goose.
Q: I’m the father of fruits. What am I?
A: A papa-ya.
Funny riddles for young children
Q: What has a bottom at the top?
A: A leg.
Q: What has a head and a tail, is brown, but has no legs?
A: A penny.
Q: Why are teddy bears never hungry?
A: Because they are always stuffed.
Q: Cats have four, bugs have four, but school has six. What are they?
A: Letters.
Q: Sam's parents have three kids. Their names are Huey, Dewey, and _____?
A: Sam!
Q: Nobody empties me, but I never stay full for long. What am I?
A: The moon.
Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire?
A: Frostbite.
Q: What’s really easy to get into, and hard to get out of?
A: Trouble.
Q: What animal can jump higher than a building?
A: Any animal that can jump — buildings don’t jump, silly!
Q: Where would you take a sick boat?
A: To the dock.
Q: What did the zero say to the eight?
A: “Nice belt!”
Q: What gets wet while drying?
A: A towel.
Q: I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
A: A candle.
Q: What room do ghosts avoid?
A: The living room.
Q: I can be cracked or played; told or made. What am I?
A: A joke!
Q: What has a head and a tail but no body?
A: A coin.
Q: I sometimes run, but I cannot walk. What am I?
A: Your nose.
Q: What has four fingers and a thumb but isn’t alive?
A: A glove
Q: What has a neck but no head?
A: A bottle.
Food riddles for kids
Q: What has no beginning, end or middle?
A: A doughnut.
Q: Although I may have eyes, I cannot see. I have a round brown face with lots of acne. What am I?
A: A potato.
Q: What kind of dog has no tail?
A: A hot dog.
Q: I am a bird, I am a fruit and I am a person. What am I?
A: Kiwi.
Q: What fruit never ever wants to be alone?
A: A pear.
Q: I can be bitter or sweet, but I'm always a treat; in a bar or a cake, I'm something to eat. What am I?
A: Chocolate.
Q: I can be yellow or blue, soft or hard; on a burger or mac, I’m often starred. What am I?
A: Cheese.
Q: First, you throw away my outside and cook the inside. Then you eat my outside and throw away the inside. What am I?
A: Corn.
Q: What kind of cheese is made backwards?
A: Edam. Made is M-A-D-E, Edam is E-D-A-M, or "made" backwards.
Q: What has a head but no eyes, nose or mouth?
A: Lettuce.
Q: I'm red and small, and I have a heart of stone. What am I?
A: A cherry.
Q: When I’m ripe, I’m green, when you eat me, I’m red, and when you spit me out, I’m black. What am I?
A: A watermelon.
Q: What fruit can you never cheer up?
A: A blueberry.
Q: What has to be broken before you can use it?
A: An egg
Q: What kind of foods are the most fun at parties?
A: Fungi.
Q: What is the richest nut?
A: A cash-ew.
Q: Why did the citrus tree go to the hospital?
A: Lemon-aid.
Q: You cut me, slice me, dice me, and all the while, you cry. What am I?
A: An onion.
Q: What kind of room has no doors or windows?
A: A mushroom.
Q: What kind of apples do computers prefer?
A: Macintosh.
Q: What kind of cup doesn’t hold water?
A: A cupcake.
Maths riddles for kids
Q: If there are seven oranges and you take three away, how many oranges do you have?
A: Three, since that's how many you took.
Q: How many seconds are in a year?
A: Twelve — January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd...
Q: How many letters are there in the alphabet?
A: There are 11: three in "the" and eight in "alphabet."
Q: Ms. Smith has four daughters. Each daughter has a brother. How many kids are there in total?
A: Five, there are four daughters and one son. Each daughter has the same brother.
Q: If an electric train is traveling south at 100 miles an hour, then slows to 50 miles an hour, which way is the smoke going?
A: There’s no smoke as it’s an electric train.
Q: When things go wrong, what can you always count on?
A: Your fingers.
Q: Oliver was 10 the day before yesterday. Next year he’ll turn 13. How is this possible?
A: His birthday is December 31. On December 30 he was 10. On December 31 he turned 11. On January 1 ("today"), he's still 11. This year, on December 31, he'll turn 12. So next year, he'll turn 13.
Q: What did the triangle say to the circle?
A: You are pointless.
Q: You have a basket that's one foot in diameter and one foot deep. How many apples can you fit in the empty basket?
A: Only one, because then it's not empty anymore.
Q: If two’s a company, and three’s a crowd, what are four and five?
A: Nine!
Q: Why was 6 afraid of 7?
A: Because 7, 8 (ate), 9!
Q: Four legs up, four legs down, soft in the middle, hard all around. What am I?
A: A bed.
Q: A word I know, six letters it contains, remove one letter and 12 remains, what is it?
A: Dozens.
Q: What month of the year has 28 days?
A: All of them!
Q: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
A: Footsteps.
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