88 riddles for kids with answers
Riddles for children of about 6 to 12: easy ones first, then riddles with two meanings, letter and number riddles, logic riddles and a hard set for older kids. Every answer explains the trick.
Updated
Easy riddles
Every morning you make me, but not with glue, paper or paint. At night you climb into me. What am I?
easy
A bed.
Making your bed means straightening the sheets and blanket, not building a new bed.
The more air you give me, the bigger I grow, but give me too much and I'm gone with a bang. What am I?
easy
A balloon.
Blowing into a balloon stretches the rubber. Too much air stretches it until it pops.
I keep you the same age forever, even while you keep growing. What am I?
easy
A photo.
A photo shows you exactly as you looked on the day it was taken, even years later.
I go forward and back all afternoon, but I never get anywhere. What am I?
easy
A swing.
A swing moves back and forth on its chains but stays in the same spot.
I'm a set of steps you can pick up and carry to another room. What am I?
easy
A ladder.
A ladder has steps called rungs, and you can lift it and move it.
I fly without wings, but only while someone holds on to my string. What am I?
easy
A kite.
The wind lifts a kite, and the string keeps it from blowing away.
After a rainstorm I lie flat on the path. Jump in me and I jump right back out, all over your pants. What am I?
easy
A puddle.
When you jump in a puddle, the water splashes up onto your clothes.
I'm full of feathers, but I've never flown anywhere. Every night I hold up your head. What am I?
easy
A pillow.
Many pillows are stuffed with feathers, and you rest your head on one at night.
I wake you up every morning, but I've never been asleep. What am I?
easy
An alarm clock.
An alarm clock rings to wake you, but it's a machine, so it never sleeps.
You make me with a wand, but I'm not magic. I float for a little while, and then I pop. What am I?
easy
A bubble.
You dip a bubble wand in soapy water and blow through it to make bubbles.
I'm the only game where the best players are the ones you can't find. What am I?
easy
Hide-and-seek.
In hide-and-seek, the best hiders are the ones the seeker never finds.
I come out of my tube easily, but I'll never go back in. What am I?
easy
Toothpaste.
Once you squeeze toothpaste out, you can't push it back into the tube.
I'm a plane with no pilot, no engine and no seats, and you make me by folding. What am I?
easy
A paper airplane.
A paper airplane is a sheet of paper folded so it glides.
I'm a castle, but no king has ever lived in me, and the waves knock me down by the end of the day. What am I?
easy
A sandcastle.
A sandcastle is built on the beach, and the tide washes it away.
I always know where you stopped reading, but I've never read a word. What am I?
easy
A bookmark.
A bookmark saves your place in a book.
I make a sunny day darker, and that helps you see. What am I?
easy
Sunglasses.
Sunglasses cut the bright light so your eyes don't have to squint.
You lose me, and someone might leave a coin under your pillow. What am I?
easy
A baby tooth.
In the story, the tooth fairy swaps a lost tooth for a coin.
I'm a bed with no legs. I hang between two trees and swing when you climb in. What am I?
easy
A hammock.
A hammock is a bed of cloth or rope tied between two posts or trees.
Every morning we get tied up, but we've never done anything wrong. What are we?
easy
Shoelaces.
You tie your shoelaces every time you put on your shoes.
Which word for a baby dog reads the same backward and forward?
easy
PUP.
P-U-P spelled backward is still P-U-P.
I'm a cone, but I never stand in the middle of the road. Scoops of something cold sit on top of me. What am I?
easy
An ice cream cone.
Orange traffic cones stand in roads to warn drivers, but an ice cream cone is a crunchy cone that holds scoops of ice cream.
Riddles with two meanings
Children play on the swings in me, and grown-ups do me with their cars. What am I?
easy
A park.
A park is a place to play, and to park a car is to stop it and leave it in a space.
You can make me with your hand, and surfers ride me in the sea. What am I?
easy
A wave.
You wave hello with your hand, and a wave in the sea is the moving water surfers ride.
You have one in the middle of each hand, and coconuts grow on one. What am I?
easy
A palm.
The inside of your hand is your palm, and a palm is also the kind of tree coconuts grow on.
You wash dishes in me, and it's what a stone does when you drop it in a pond. What am I?
easy
A sink.
A sink holds water for washing, and to sink means to go down under water.
You have one on the tip of every finger, and a builder bangs one in with a hammer. What am I?
easy
A nail.
Fingernails grow on your fingertips, and a nail is also the metal pin a hammer drives into wood.
I spin to keep you cool on a hot day, and I cheer loudly for my favorite team. What am I?
easy
A fan.
A fan is a machine that blows air, and a fan is also a person who cheers for a team.
You wear me on your wrist, and you do me with your eyes when a show is on. What am I?
easy
A watch.
A watch tells the time, and to watch means to look at something.
Two socks that look exactly alike make one of me, and so does a soccer game. What am I?
easy
A match.
Two things that go together are a match, and a game between two teams is also a match.
I'm a big bus for a long trip, and I'm also the grown-up who runs soccer practice. What am I?
easy
A coach.
A coach is a large bus for long trips, and a coach is also the person who trains a team.
You eat cereal out of me, and it's what you do when you roll a ball at the pins. What am I?
easy
A bowl.
A bowl holds your cereal, and to bowl is to roll the ball in bowling.
I'm a hat with a brim at the front, and I'm the lid you twist onto a bottle. What am I?
easy
A cap.
A baseball cap is a hat, and the lid of a bottle is also called a cap.
I hold your coat closed, and you press me to start a video game. What am I?
easy
A button.
Buttons fasten clothes, and buttons on a controller or remote are pressed.
I twinkle in the night sky, and I'm also the most important actor in a movie. What am I?
easy
A star.
Stars shine at night, and the main actor in a film is called its star.
Pencils have one, your team gets one when it scores, and you do it with your finger. What is it?
medium
A point.
A sharp pencil has a point, a score in a game is a point, and you point at things with your finger.
You do me in bed at night, and you also do me when you don't tell the truth. What am I?
medium
Lie.
You lie down to sleep, and a lie is something that isn't true.
I'm a deep hole with water at the bottom, and I'm how you feel when you're not sick. What am I?
medium
A well.
A well is dug down to reach water, and feeling well means feeling healthy.
I'm a toy that spins on its point, and I'm the highest part of a mountain. What am I?
medium
A top.
A spinning top is a toy, and the top of a mountain is its highest part.
I'm the coins you get back after you pay, and it's what a caterpillar does when it becomes a butterfly. What am I?
medium
Change.
The coins a shop gives back are your change, and to change means to become something different.
Cars roll on four of me, and a long day of running makes you do me. What am I?
medium
Tire.
A tire is the rubber around a wheel, and to tire means to get tired.
Medium riddles
Some nights I look like a circle and some nights like a thin slice, but I never really change shape. What am I?
medium
The moon.
The moon is always round. As it travels around the Earth, we see more or less of its sunlit side.
I only show up when the sun shines while it's raining, and my colors always come in the same order. What am I?
medium
A rainbow.
Sunlight shining through raindrops splits into colors, always with red on the outside of the bow.
I can make you laugh without telling a single joke, but I hardly ever work when you try me on yourself. What am I?
medium
A tickle.
Someone else can tickle you, but most people can't tickle themselves, because they always know exactly what's coming.
The harder you pull on me, the tighter I get. What am I?
medium
A knot.
Pulling on the ends of a knot squeezes it smaller and tighter.
The longer I get, the longer you have to wait. What am I?
medium
A line.
The more people are lined up in front of you, the longer your wait.
The more you roll me across the yard, the bigger I get. What am I?
medium
A snowball.
Rolling a snowball through snow picks up more snow, which is how you make a snowman's body.
The more candles on top of me, the older the person I was made for. What am I?
medium
A birthday cake.
A birthday cake usually gets one candle for each year of the birthday person's age.
In this race, teammates never pass each other, but they still have to pass something. What race is it?
medium
A relay race.
In a relay, each runner hands a stick called a baton to the next runner on the team. They pass the baton, not each other.
I have a diamond, but it's not in a ring, and a pitcher, but it holds no lemonade. What game am I?
medium
Baseball.
A baseball field is called a diamond, and the pitcher is the player who throws the ball.
I collect stamps, but I've never been mailed anywhere. You take me with you when you visit another country. What am I?
medium
A passport.
Many countries stamp a traveler's passport on the way in or out, but those stamps aren't for mailing letters.
In baseball, three strikes and you're out, but in this game a strike is the best roll you can make. What game is it?
medium
Bowling.
In bowling, a strike means knocking down all ten pins with your first ball.
Letter and number riddles
Take the first letter off something you sit on, and you get something that grows on your head. What are the two words?
easy
CHAIR and HAIR.
Take the C off CHAIR and you're left with HAIR.
Take the first letter off a toy you stack, and you get something a key opens. What are the two words?
easy
BLOCK and LOCK.
Take the B off BLOCK and you're left with LOCK.
Which part of your body is hiding in the word SHIP?
easy
Your HIP.
S-HIP: the last three letters spell HIP.
Which part of your leg is hiding in the word SHINE?
easy
Your SHIN.
SHIN-E: the first four letters spell SHIN.
My first half is at the end of your leg. My second half bounces. Put us together and you get a game. What am I?
easy
Football.
FOOT and BALL make FOOTBALL.
My first half hears. My second half goes on a finger. Together I hang from your ear. What am I?
easy
An earring.
EAR and RING make EARRING.
Take one letter out of a word for Earth or Mars, and you get something that grows in a flowerpot. What are the two words?
medium
PLANET and PLANT.
Take the E out of PLANET and you get PLANT.
Take one letter out of something you eat soup with, and you get a word that means "in a little while." What are the two words?
medium
SPOON and SOON.
Take the P out of SPOON and you get SOON.
Spell something you chew backward, and you get a cup for hot cocoa. What are the two words?
medium
GUM and MUG.
G-U-M spelled backward is M-U-G.
Spell a word that means "hold on to" backward, and you get a quick look. What are the two words?
medium
KEEP and PEEK.
K-E-E-P spelled backward is P-E-E-K.
Add two letters to the front of ANT, and you get a huge person from a fairy tale. What is it?
medium
GIANT.
G and I plus ANT makes GIANT.
Add two letters to the end of CAN, and you get a boat you paddle. What is it?
medium
CANOE.
CAN plus O and E makes CANOE.
I'm the color of a fire truck, and I sound exactly like what you did with your book yesterday. What am I?
medium
Red.
RED sounds the same as READ when you're talking about the past.
I'm the color of the sky, and I sound exactly like what the wind did last night. What am I?
medium
Blue.
BLUE sounds the same as BLEW.
Cars drive on me, and I sound exactly like what you did on your bike yesterday. What am I?
medium
A road.
ROAD sounds the same as RODE.
I'm sixty minutes long, and I sound exactly like a word that means "belonging to us." What am I?
medium
An hour.
The H in HOUR is silent, so it sounds like OUR.
I'm all of something, with no pieces missing, and I sound exactly like something you dig in the sand. What am I?
medium
Whole.
WHOLE sounds the same as HOLE.
Spelled out, I have three letters. I'm an even number, and I'm between five and nine. What number am I?
medium
Six.
The numbers spelled with three letters are ONE, TWO, SIX and TEN. Only SIX is between five and nine.
I'm the number of legs on a spider, and if you lay me on my side I look like the sign for "forever." What number am I?
medium
Eight.
A spider has eight legs, and an 8 lying on its side looks like ∞, the sign for infinity.
Which two letters of the alphabet are also words all by themselves?
medium
A and I.
A is a word, as in "a cat," and I is the word you use for yourself.
A bike has me so it can stop, and I sound exactly like what happens to a glass when you drop it. What am I?
medium
A brake.
BRAKE sounds the same as BREAK.
Logic and trick riddles
A pencil is longer than a crayon but shorter than a ruler. Which one is the shortest?
easy
The crayon.
The pencil is longer than the crayon, and the ruler is longer than the pencil, so the crayon is shortest.
What is one thing you can never see in a mirror, no matter how hard you try?
medium
Yourself with your eyes closed.
To see your reflection, your eyes have to be open.
Emma is older than Jack. Jack is older than Lily. Lily is older than Noah. Who is the second youngest?
medium
Lily.
From oldest to youngest the order is Emma, Jack, Lily, Noah. Noah is the youngest, so Lily is the second youngest.
Which has more legs: three chairs or two dogs?
medium
Three chairs.
Three chairs have 12 legs, and two dogs have 8.
I'm your aunt's son. Who am I to you?
medium
Your cousin.
The children of your aunts and uncles are your cousins.
I'm thinking of a number. It's even, it's bigger than 5 and smaller than 10, and it isn't 6. What is it?
medium
8.
The even numbers between 5 and 10 are 6 and 8, and it isn't 6.
Hard riddles for older kids
At sunrise, Jay stands in the schoolyard and his shadow points straight at the gym. Is the gym east or west of Jay?
hard
West.
The sun rises in the east, and a shadow points away from the sun, so Jay's shadow points west.
My grandma's only son is not my dad. Who is he?
hard
My uncle.
If she were my dad's mom, her only son would be my dad. So she is my mom's mom, and her son is my mom's brother.
My first letter is in BAT but not in CAT. My second is in HOT but not in HAT. My third is in TOP but not in TIP. My last is in KITE but not in BITE. You read me. What am I?
hard
A book.
The letters are B, O, O and K.
Add me to myself or multiply me by myself, and you get the same answer. I'm not zero. What number am I?
hard
2.
2 + 2 = 4 and 2 × 2 = 4.
Three friends ran a race. Zoe didn't come first, and Max finished right after Zoe. The third runner was Ivy. Who won?
hard
Ivy.
Zoe wasn't first and Max came right after her, so Zoe was second and Max was third. That leaves first place for Ivy.
A basket holds 10 pieces of fruit, apples and pears. There are 4 more apples than pears. How many pears are there?
hard
3.
If there are 3 pears, there are 7 apples: 7 is 4 more than 3, and 7 + 3 = 10.
I'm a month with 31 days. My name starts with a vowel, and I'm not the month with Halloween. Which month am I?
hard
August.
The months that start with a vowel are April, August and October. April has 30 days and October has Halloween, which leaves August.
On a map with north at the top, you walk from the bottom left corner to the top right corner. Which direction are you going?
hard
Northeast.
Up the map is north and right is east, so up and to the right is northeast.
Mia's clock says 9:00, but it's 15 minutes fast. What time is it really?
hard
8:45.
A clock that is fast shows a later time than the real one, so take away 15 minutes.
Which capital letters look exactly the same in a mirror as they do on paper? Name three.
hard
Any three of A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X and Y.
Each of these capital letters has matching left and right sides, so a mirror doesn't change it.
Plan the round and team scores
8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.
60
These are adjustable house rules. Pause whenever the group needs more time.
Team 1: 0
Team 2: 0
Use this set with a group
Read a prompt, allow thinking time, then invite an answer or a pass. For a timed round, choose a turn length before starting. A host can keep the printed answers out of view until the round ends.