43 picture riddles and rebus puzzles with answers
Most pictures are made of letters, words and numbers: where a word sits, how often it repeats and which way it reads spell out a word or phrase. The last set adds two drawings together to make one word. Name it, then reveal the answer.
43 riddles · Picture riddles and rebus puzzles with answers · answers included
Updated
No riddles match these filters.
Over, under and on
- 1
Which saying does this picture show?
easy
Hint: Read the top word, say where it sits, then read the bottom word.
AnswerMind over matter.
MIND is written over MATTER. The saying means your will can win over a physical problem.
- 2
Why was this person late?
easy
Hint: The single letter sits above the word, so say its position too.
AnswerI overslept.
The letter I sits over the word SLEPT.
- 3
How do many fairy tales begin?
easy
Hint: Start with the top word and use an old storybook word for on top.
AnswerOnce upon a time.
ONCE sits upon A TIME.
- 4
Which saying does this picture show?
medium
Hint: Begin with the bottom word and say where it is compared with the top.
AnswerWater under the bridge.
WATER is under BRIDGE. The saying means an old problem that no longer matters.
- 5
What kind of spy is this?
medium
Hint: Read the lower word first and tell where it sits beneath the upper one.
AnswerAn undercover agent.
AGENT is under COVER.
- 6
What do people wear on a very cold day?
medium
Hint: Here the lower word comes first; say where it sits, then the top word.
AnswerLong underwear.
LONG is under WEAR.
- 7
How would you like your eggs cooked?
medium
Hint: Read top to bottom, saying where the top word is, like a diner order.
AnswerEggs over easy.
EGGS is over EASY. Eggs over easy are fried on both sides and keep a runny yolk.
- 8
What is this worker doing wrong?
easy
Hint: The top word is resting right on top of the bottom one.
AnswerSleeping on the job.
SLEEPING is on top of JOB.
- 9
How did the train arrive?
easy
Hint: Say the top word, then tell where it rests compared with the lower one.
AnswerRight on time.
RIGHT is on top of TIME.
- 10
Where is this trip going?
hard
Hint: Say the bottom letters out loud, and think of big bodies of water.
AnswerTravel overseas.
TRAVEL is over the C's, and C's sounds like seas: travel over seas.
Inside
- 11
Who do people say they can see in the night sky?
medium
Hint: Find the capital letters hiding in the middle of the small word.
AnswerThe man in the moon.
MAN is inside MOON: MO, then MAN, then ON.
- 12
Which phrase means that something is very easy?
medium
Hint: Split the lowercase word around the capitals, then say what is inside what.
AnswerA walk in the park.
WALK is inside PARK: PA, then WALK, then RK.
- 13
What do we say about someone who is always daydreaming?
medium
Hint: Spot the body part in capitals sitting in the middle of the sky word.
AnswerTheir head is in the clouds.
HEAD is inside CLOUDS: CLO, then HEAD, then UDS.
- 14
What is the best shot in golf?
easy
Hint: Look at the number sitting right in the middle of the word.
AnswerA hole in one.
The number 1 is inside HOLE.
- 15
Which saying about an important person does this picture show?
hard
Hint: Compare the sizes: the capital word is large, the word around it is tiny.
AnswerA big fish in a small pond.
FISH is in big capital letters inside the word pond, which is written small. The saying means someone who matters a lot in a small group.
- 16
What do we call two friends who are always together?
medium
Hint: Count the capital letters in the middle, and say that letter out loud.
AnswerTwo peas in a pod.
Two P's, which sound like peas, sit inside POD.
Shapes and lines
- 17
What kind of meal is this?
easy
Hint: Look at the shape drawn around the word and name that shape.
AnswerA square meal.
MEAL is inside a square. A square meal is a full, filling one.
- 18
What advice does this picture give?
easy
Hint: Check where the word sits compared with the empty shape.
AnswerThink outside the box.
THINK is written outside the box. The saying means look for a new way to solve a problem.
- 19
What kind of puzzle is this?
easy
Hint: See how the two copies meet in the middle, going two ways.
AnswerA crossword.
Two copies of WORD cross each other at the O.
- 20
Which phrase means finding a meaning nobody said out loud?
medium
Hint: Notice what is drawn in the gaps that separate the letters.
AnswerReading between the lines.
The letters of READING sit between lines.
- 21
What are you doing when you avoid saying what you mean?
medium
Hint: The word in the middle is surrounded on every side by another.
AnswerBeating around the bush.
BEAT is written all around BUSH.
Which way it reads
- 22
Which part of a city is this?
easy
Hint: Notice which direction the letters run as you read them.
AnswerDowntown.
TOWN is written going down.
- 23
Where should you turn your eyes?
easy
Hint: Try reading the letters starting from the bottom instead.
AnswerLook up.
LOOK is spelled from the bottom going up.
- 24
What did the old car's engine just do with a loud bang?
medium
Hint: Read the letters starting from the last one.
AnswerBackfire.
FIRE is written backward.
- 25
What happens right before a rocket launch?
easy
Hint: Watch the order of the numbers and which way they go.
AnswerA countdown.
The numbers count down from 3 to 1, and they run down the page.
- 26
Which greeting is this?
medium
Hint: Notice which word comes first and which one follows it.
AnswerGood afternoon.
GOOD comes after NOON.
- 27
What is for breakfast?
easy
Hint: The letters are all mixed up, so put them back in order first.
AnswerScrambled eggs.
The letters of EGGS are scrambled.
Counting and sounds
- 28
How long does this picture say something lasts?
easy
Hint: Count how many times the word appears and say that number.
AnswerForever.
There are four EVERs, and "four ever" sounds like forever.
- 29
What is this an invitation to?
medium
Hint: Say each piece out loud as a sound, not as a letter or number.
AnswerTea for two.
T sounds like tea, 4 sounds like for and 2 sounds like two.
- 30
What does this picture warn you about?
easy
Hint: Count the copies, then find a word for two of something.
AnswerDouble trouble.
TROUBLE is written twice, so it is doubled.
- 31
Which saying about the past is this?
medium
Hint: The same word keeps coming back, again and again, down the page.
AnswerHistory repeats itself.
HISTORY is written again and again: it repeats itself.
- 32
What is wrong with this person's eyesight?
easy
Hint: Look closely at each letter and count how many of each there are.
AnswerSeeing double.
Every letter of SEEING is written twice.
- 33
Which perfect place is this?
hard
Hint: Find a word for two of a kind, then say it with the word shown.
AnswerParadise.
Two DICE make a pair of dice, which sounds like paradise.
- 34
Which nursery rhyme is this?
hard
Hint: Count the groups, then notice which letter is missing from each.
AnswerThree blind mice.
There are three MICE, each missing its I, so the mice have no eyes.
Drawn picture sums
- 35
Add the sun and the flower together. Which word do they make?
A sun plus a flower
easy
Hint: A tall garden flower with a big yellow face.
AnswerSunflower.
Sun + flower = sunflower.
- 36
Add the star and the fish together. Which word do they make?
A star plus a fish
easy
Hint: It lives in the sea and has five arms.
AnswerStarfish.
Star + fish = starfish.
- 37
Add the cup and the cake together. Which word do they make?
A cup plus a cake
easy
Hint: A small cake baked in a paper case.
AnswerCupcake.
Cup + cake = cupcake.
- 38
Add the dog and the house together. Which word do they make?
A dog plus a house
easy
Hint: A small shelter in the yard for a pet.
AnswerDoghouse.
Dog + house = doghouse.
- 39
Add the cat and the fish together. Which word do they make?
A cat plus a fish
easy
Hint: A fish with whiskers.
AnswerCatfish.
Cat + fish = catfish.
- 40
Add the bird and the house together. Which word do they make?
A bird plus a house
easy
Hint: A little box on a pole or a tree where birds can nest.
AnswerBirdhouse.
Bird + house = birdhouse.
- 41
Add the house and the boat together. Which word do they make?
A house plus a boat
easy
Hint: People live on it, out on the water.
AnswerHouseboat.
House + boat = houseboat.
- 42
Add the tree and the house together. Which word do they make?
A tree plus a house
easy
Hint: A den built up in the branches.
AnswerTreehouse.
Tree + house = treehouse.
- 43
Add the boat and the house together. Which word do they make?
A boat plus a house
easy
Hint: A shed by the water where boats are kept.
AnswerBoathouse.
Boat + house = boathouse.
Timer and team scores
8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.
60
Pause whenever the group needs more time.
Team Lime's turn
Team Lime: 0
Team Violet: 0
Team Tangerine: 0
Team Sky: 0
Team Lemon: 0
Team Bubblegum: 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.