107 Awesome Riddles for Kids [With Answers]

Many of us can agree: the triumph that comes with solving a tough riddle is a feeling like no other. And chances are, your child will love riddles too!

There are plenty of reasons to introduce riddles to your child. Riddles are a great way to stimulate children’s minds. Plus, they’re a fun activity to keep kids occupied and learning at home.

We collected the 107 best riddles for kids (and adults, too!) to keep your child entertained and get their brains working. 

Try them out below!

What is a riddle?

A riddle is a fun type of brain teaser that exists as a question or statement to be solved. 

Usually, riddles are worded in a puzzling or misleading way. Many have a double or hidden meaning that requires creative, outside-the-box thinking. Their answers are often unexpected, so the reader must think very carefully when solving them.

107 Fun riddles for kids

Put your thinking caps on and see how many you can solve with your child. Make sure to scroll slowly so you don't spoil the answers!

P.S. Want to print these to use later? We've put together a cheat sheet with best riddle picks just for you – download our free printable version here!

Easy riddles for kids

These riddles will engage your child without causing too much frustration. Perfect for warming up their brain so they can keep solving more!

1. Riddle: How many months of the year have 28 days?

Answer: All of them! Every month has *at least* 28 days.

2. Riddle: What has hands and a face, but can’t hold anything or smile?

Answer: A clock.

3. Riddle: It belongs to you, but your friends use it more. What is it?

Answer: Your name.

4. Riddle: Kate’s mother has three children: Snap, Crackle and ___?

Answer: Kate! It’s Kate’s mother, after all. (This is a good example of how riddles use your existing expectations to trick you. Even though the answer is right in front of you, you’re tempted to continue the pattern instead.)

5. Riddle: If you don’t keep me, I’ll break. What am I?

Answer: A promise.

6. Riddle: There’s only one word in the dictionary that’s spelled wrong. What is it?

Answer: The word “wrong.” It’s the only word that’s spelled W-R-O-N-G.

7. Riddle: You’re running a race and at the very end, you pass the person in 2nd place. What place did you finish the race in?

Answer: You finished in 2nd place.

8. Riddle: I have a tail and a head, but no body. What am I?

Answer: A coin.

9. Riddle: What 2 things can you never eat for breakfast?

Answer: Lunch and dinner.

10. Riddle: I am so simple that I can only point, yet I guide people all over the world.

Answer: Compass.

11. Riddle: What has thirteen hearts, but no other organs?

Answer: A deck of cards.

12. Riddle: Which word becomes shorter when you add 2 letters to it? 

Answer: The word “short.”

13. Riddle: What’s the capital of France?

Answer: The letter “F.”  It's the only capital letter in France.

14. Riddle: What gets wet as it dries?

Answer: A towel.

15. Riddle: What has keys but can't open locks?

Answer: A piano.

16. Riddle: What can you catch but not throw?

Answer: A cold.

17. Riddle: What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?

Answer: A stamp.

18. Riddle: What comes down but never goes up?

Answer: Rain.

19. Riddle: I go up and down, but never move. What am I?

Answer: A staircase.

Math riddles for kids

Math riddles are a good way to get your child practicing math while having fun. They’ll need to use their math knowledge and problem-solving skills to find the answer to these riddles. 

Tip: Pair your math riddles with math puzzles and math jokes to keep your child entertained with math for ages!

1. Riddle: When Grant was 8, his brother was half his age. Now, Grant is 14. How old is his brother?

Answer: His brother is 10. Half of 8 is 4, so Grant’s brother is 4 years younger. This means when Grant is 14, his brother is still 4 years younger, so he’s 10.

2. Riddle: Two fathers and 2 sons spent the day fishing, but only caught 3 fish. This was enough for each of them to have one fish. How is this possible?

Answer: There were only 3 people fishing. There was one father, his son, and his son's son. This means there were 2 fathers and 2 sons, since one of them is a father and a son.

3. Riddle: Liam was 11 the day before yesterday, and next year he’ll turn 14. How is this possible?

Answer: Today is January 1st, and Liam’s birthday is December 31st. Liam was 11 the day before yesterday (December 30th), then turned 12 the next day. This year on December 31st he’ll turn 13, so next year he’ll turn 14.

4. Riddle: Mrs. Brown has 5 daughters. Each of these daughters has a brother. How many children does Mrs. Brown have?

Answer: They have 6 children. Each daughter has the same brother. There are 5 daughters and 1 son.

5. Riddle: It’s raining at midnight, but the forecast for tomorrow and the next day is clear. Will there be sunny weather in 48 hours?

Answer: No, it won’t be sunny because it will be dark out. In 48 hours, it will be midnight again.

6. Riddle: There are 3 apples in the basket and you take away 2. How many apples do you have now?

Answer: You have 2 apples. You took away 2 apples and left 1 in the basket.

7. Riddle: What can you put between 7 and 8, to make the result greater than 7, but less than 8?

Answer: A decimal point. Your result would be 7.8, which is between 7 and 8.

8. Riddle: A new clothing store has a unique method of pricing items. A vest costs $20, a tie costs $15, a blouse costs $30, and underwear costs $45. How much would pants cost?

Answer: $25. The pricing method charges $5 for each letter needed to spell the item.

9. Riddle: 81 x 9 = 801. What do you need to do to make this equation true?

Answer: Turn it upside down. 108 = 6 x 18.

10. Riddle: Double it and multiply it by 4. Then divide it by 8 and you’ll have it once more. What number is it?

Answer: Any number. If a number is doubled and multiplied by 4, it’s actually been multiplied by 8, so dividing by 8 will get you the original number again. 

11. Riddle: What 3 numbers give the same result when multiplied and added together?

Answer: 1, 2, and 3 (1 + 2 + 3 = 6 and 1 x 2 x 3 = 6).

12. Riddle: Zoey has a very big family. She has 20 aunts, 20 uncles and 50 cousins. Each of her cousins has an aunt who is not Zoey’s aunt. How is this possible? 

Answer: Their aunt is Zoey’s mom!

13. Riddle: I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?

Answer: Seven.

14. Riddle: Which is heavier: a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers?

Answer: Neither—they both weigh a ton.

15. I am a three-digit number. My tens digit is five more than my ones digit. My hundreds digit is eight less than my tens digit. What number am I?

Answer: 194. (great for teaching place value!)

16. Using only addition, how can you add eight 8's to get the number 1,000?

Answer: 888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1,000.

Hard riddles for kids 

Did your child ace the last two categories? Try to stump them with these brain-teasingly tricky riddles for kids that are a bit more of a challenge. 

1. Riddle: I go all around the world, but never leave the corner. What am I?

Answer: A stamp.

2. Riddle: You’ll find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars and Jupiter, but not in Venus or Neptune. What am I?

Answer: The letter “R.”

3. Riddle: What can go up a chimney down, but can’t go down a chimney up?

Answer: An umbrella. If your umbrella is “down,” it can fit through a chimney, but if it’s “up,” it won’t fit!

4. Riddle: I make a loud sound when I’m changing. When I do change, I get bigger but weigh less. What am I?

Answer: Popcorn.

5. Riddle: A bus driver was heading down a busy street in the city. He went past three stop signs without stopping, went the wrong way down a one-way street, and answered a message on his phone. But the bus driver didn’t break any traffic laws. How? 

Answer: He was walking, not driving. (This riddle adds irrelevant information to deceive the reader. You expect that since he’s a bus driver, he’s currently driving the bus — but it never actually says that!)

6. Riddle: It has keys, but no locks. It has space, but no room. You can enter, but can’t go inside. What is it?

Answer: A keyboard.

7. Riddle: I can fill a room, but I take up no space. What am I?

Answer: Light.

8. Riddle: It’s the only place in the world where today comes before yesterday. Where is it?

Answer: The dictionary.

9. Riddle: If I have it, I don’t share it. If I share it, I don’t have it. What is it?

Answer: A secret.

10. Riddle: What goes away as soon as you talk about it?

Answer: Silence.

11. Riddle: A railroad crossing without any cars. Can you spell that without any R’s?

Answer: T-H-A-T (This one is tricky! It makes readers think they’re supposed to describe the scenario without using the letter “R.” But the first sentence was actually used to distract the reader from the real question.)

12. Riddle: What can run but cannot walk?

Answer: Water.

13. Riddle: What has a mouth but can’t speak?

Answer: A river.

14. Riddle: What has one eye but can’t see?

Answer: A needle.

15. Riddle: Everyone has me but no one can lose me. What am I?

Answer: A shadow.

16. Riddle: What starts with T, ends with T, and has T inside it?

Answer: A teapot.

17. Riddle: There's a one-story house. Everything in the red house is red, the walls are red, the bathroom is red, the floor is red, the kitchen is red, all of the bedrooms are red. So, what color are the stairs?

Answer: There's no stairs, it's a one-story house.

18. Riddle: What can you hold in your left hand but not in your right hand?

Answer: Your right elbow.

19. Riddle: What kind of coat can be put on only when wet?

Answer: A coat of paint.

20. Riddle: If an electric train is traveling south, which way is the smoke going?

Answer: There’s no smoke as it’s an electric train.

21. Riddle: What kind of room has no walls or corners?

Answer: A mushroom.

22. Riddle: What do the numbers 11, 69, and 88 all have in common?

Answer: They all read the same way when placed upside down.

23. Riddle: I’m very tall when I’m young but get shorter as I get older. What am I?

Answer: A candle.

24. Riddle: I have no wings, but I can fly. And I have no eyes, but I can cry. What am I?

Answer: A cloud.

25. Riddle: I'm light as a feather, but even the world's strongest man couldn't hold me for much longer than a minute. What am I?

Answer: Breath.

Funny riddles for kids

Want to get your child giggling with these riddles and puns? 

Show them these riddles that also double as jokes! 

The answers might not be what you expect, because each one comes with a funny punchline for the solution.  

1. Riddle: What can jump higher than a building?

Answer: Anything that can jump — buildings don’t jump, silly!

2. Riddle: An elephant in Africa is called Lala. An elephant in Asia is called Lulu. What do you call an elephant in Antarctica?

Answer: Lost.

3. Riddle: Imagine you are in a room with no windows or doors. How will you get out?

Answer: Stop imagining.

4. Riddle: A group of bunnies were having a birthday party. What kind of music were they listening to?

Answer: Hip hop music.

5. Riddle: Where would you take a sick boat?

Answer: To the dock.

6. Riddle: What kind of room has no doors or windows?

Answer: A mushroom.

7. Riddle: I’m orange, I wear a green hat and I sound like a parrot. What am I?

Answer: A carrot.

8. Riddle: What fruit can you never cheer up?

Answer: A blueberry.

9. Riddle: What did the zero say to the eight?

Answer: “Nice belt!”

10. Riddle: What do you get if you cross a vampire and a snowman?

Answer: Frostbite.

11. Riddle: What do elves learn at school?

Answer: The Elf-abet.

12. Riddle: What does a ghost use to wash its hair?

Answer: Sham-boo!

13. Riddle: What has a head but no brain?

Answer: A lettuce.

14. Riddle: Most people think of me as money. But when they find me in the water, they won’t get any money out of me. What am I?

Answer: A river bank!

15. Riddle: Where would you take a sick boat?

Answer: To the dock.

16. Riddle: What question can you never answer yes to?

Answer: Are you asleep yet?

17. Riddle: What kind of band never plays music?

Answer: A rubber band.

18. Riddle: What can be cracked, made, told, and played?

Answer: A joke.

There’s no doubt that kids love animals. Here’s some of the best riddles for kids that focus on animals. Let’s start with some easy riddles:

1. Riddle: What jumps when it walks and sits when it stands?

Answer: A kangaroo.

2. Riddle: I sleep during the day and fly at night, but I have no feathers to aid my flight. What am I?

Answer: A bat.

3. Riddle: I can honk without using a horn. What am I?

Answer: A goose.

4. Riddle: Why do cats make good warriors?

Answer: Because they’ve got 9 lives.

5. Riddle: The English alphabet goes from A to Z but my name goes from Z to A. What am I?

Answer: A Zebra.

Now, let’s test their thinking skills a little more with these trickier animal riddles:

6. Riddle: I am the fastest animal but cannot climb the tree. What am I? 

Answer: A cheetah.

7. Riddle: I have horns but I can’t beep. I like to bleat but I’m not a sheep. What am I?

Answer: A goat.

8. Riddle: I hide my treasure in the ground, my tail is big and fluffy. If you spot me in a tree, please don’t call me scruffy. What am I?

Answer: A squirrel.

9. Riddle: I live in a bowl. I can swim. I have a tail. I also have fins and big eyes. What am I?

Answer: A goldfish.

10. Riddle: I have a hole in my back and legs I lack. I live where I can’t breathe and I eat without teeth. What am I?

Answer: A whale.

11: I have a thousand needles but I do not sew. What am I?

Answer: A porcupine.

Riddles can also be used to help kids understand more about how English works, including things like the alphabet. Here are some easy riddles that test out your child’s knowledge of the English language.

1. Riddle: I am the beginning of everything, the end of everywhere.I'm the beginning of eternity, the end of time & space. What am I?

Answer: The letter E.

2. Riddle: What is in seasons, seconds, centuries and minutes but not in decades, years or days?

Answer: The letter N.

3. Riddle: How many letters are in the alphabet?

Answer: 11 letters (there's only 11 letters in the phrase 'the alphabet').

4. Riddle: What happens once in a minute, twice in a moment but never in one thousand years?

Answer: The letter “M”.

5. Riddle: What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?

Answer: “Short”.

6. Riddle: What word begins and ends with an E but only has one letter?

Answer: Envelope (there's an 'e' at the start and end of the word, and an envelope contains a letter).

7. Which letter of the alphabet has the most water?

Answer: The letter “C”.

Celebrate all things holiday-themed with these fun holiday riddles for kids below:

1. Riddle: I come in many colors, so beautiful and bright, I turn homes into a beautiful sight. What am I?

Answer: Christmas lights!

2. Riddle: Which one of Santa’s reindeer can be seen on Valentine’s day?

Answer: Cupid.

3. Riddle: What kind of ball doesn’t bounce?

Answer: A snowball!

4. Riddle: How does a snowman lose weight?

Answer: He waits for the weather to get warmer.

5. Riddle: Why do mummies like Christmas so much?

Answer: Because of all the wrapping!

6. Riddle: Santa has one neighborhood left to visit on his way to the North Pole. In that neighborhood, there's a blue house made of gingerbread, a red house made of peppermint, and a white house made of vanilla. If Santa flies to the blue house first, then to the red house and then to the white house, where does he go next?

Answer: He goes back to the North pole (his home!).

7. Riddle: I fall but I never get hurt. 

Answer: Snow. 

Celebrate all things spooky with this little list of halloween riddles below.

1. Riddle: Why were the little ghosts so successful in Little League?

Answer: They had plenty of team spirit.

2. Riddle: How do you fix a damaged jack-o-lantern?

Answer: You use a pumpkin patch.

3. Riddle: I protect, I stand tall. My goal is to strike fear in all. What am I?

Answer: A scarecrow.

5. Riddle: I have a body, arms, legs and a head, but have no heart nor no guts. What am I?

Answer: A skeleton.

6. Riddle: Often buried with fabulous wealth I'm often called wrapped up in myself. What am I?

Answer: A mummy. (Ideal if kids are learning about Egyptian history!)

Benefits of riddles for kids

Kids of all ages love solving riddles. But do you know how many great benefits they have for your child’s learning and development? 

Riddles for kids can:  

• Improve reading comprehension
• Help children focus and pay attention
• Boost problem solving and critical thinking
• Strengthen language skills and linguistic awareness
• Promote analytical thinking and deductive reasoning

Riddles can also boost your child's mood, make them laugh, and give them a sense of accomplishment. 

And best of all, it gives you a chance to bond. Work on solving each riddle together as a fun family activity!

How to help your child create their own riddles

Once your child has completed our list of riddles, take their skills to the next level with homemade riddles! Encourage your child to create their own riddles using the following steps: 

1. Start with the answer

Come up with the solution to your riddle first, then work backwards to create your question. Your solution can be almost anything, but choosing a physical object is an easy way to start. 

Ex. The answer to my riddle is “carrot.”

2. Brainstorm

Write down any words or phrases that could be associated with your answer. 

Consider:

• Synonyms 
• Similar things
• Things it does 
• Features it has
• How to describe it

Ex. Carrots are orange with green leaves on top. 

3. Think like your answer

If your answer were a person, what would they think? What would they do? How would they describe themselves? How would they see the world around them? 

Ex. If I were a carrot, I might think I was wearing a green hat.

4. Think outside the sentence

Use figurative language — like a metaphor, simile, personification or hyperbole — to make comparisons or describe your answer in new ways. This is often what makes the riddle tricky for the reader to solve. 

Ex. A carrot sounds like “a parrot.” 

5. Write your riddle!

Now that you have the backbone of your riddle, the only thing left to do is write! Use clear, descriptive language to write out your riddle, then share it with friends and family to see if they can solve it. 

If you want to show your riddle in a different way, you could even think about presenting it as a pun, like a knock-knock joke! Or if you’re looking to make a really tricky riddle or a brain teaser, you could use something visual like a deck of cards.

Ex. I’m orange, wear a green hat and sound like a parrot. What am I? 

A carrot!

How many riddles did your child get right? Which one was their favorite? 

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