67 what am I riddles with answers
Each riddle describes something and asks what it is. They start with easy ones for kids and get harder toward the end, with the level marked on every riddle.
Updated
Easy
I'm made of water, but drop me in warm water and I disappear. I keep your drink cold. What am I?
easy
An ice cube.
Ice is frozen water, so it melts back into water when it warms up.
I rise every morning without an alarm and set every evening without going to bed. What am I?
easy
The sun.
We say the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening.
I spin all day and all night but never get dizzy. Everyone you know lives on me. What am I?
easy
The Earth.
The Earth turns all the way around once a day, which gives us day and night.
Knock on me and I might open. I have a handle, but I'm not a cup. What am I?
easy
A door.
People knock on a door, and you turn its handle to open it.
I help you cross a river without getting wet. Cars and people travel over my back. What am I?
easy
A bridge.
A bridge carries a road or path over water.
I fall from the clouds, make puddles on the ground and help flowers grow. What am I?
easy
Rain.
Rain falls from clouds and gives plants the water they need.
You put us on at bedtime and take us off in the morning. What are we?
easy
Pajamas.
Pajamas are the clothes you wear to sleep.
I keep you warm in bed, and I make a great roof for a fort on the sofa. What am I?
easy
A blanket.
You sleep under a blanket, and spread over two chairs it makes a fort.
I have a shade, but I'm not a tree. Switch me on and I light up your desk. What am I?
easy
A lamp.
A lamp shade covers the bulb. Trees give shade too, which is the joke.
I'm small and made of metal. Slide me into a lock and turn me, and the door opens. What am I?
easy
A key.
A key fits a lock and turns to open it.
I have rungs that you climb one at a time. Lean me against a wall and I help you reach the roof. What am I?
easy
A ladder.
The steps of a ladder are called rungs.
I have two wheels and two pedals, and I only stay up while you keep riding. What am I?
easy
A bicycle.
A bike balances while it moves and tips over when it stops.
I'm a thin tube. Put me in your drink and sip through me. What am I?
easy
A straw.
You suck on one end of a straw and the drink comes up the tube.
Climb my steps, sit down at the top, and whoosh, I carry you back to the ground. What am I?
easy
A slide.
A playground slide has steps up one side and a smooth ramp down the other.
When one end of me goes up, the other end comes down, and I work best with a friend. What am I?
easy
A seesaw.
A seesaw is a long board that tips up and down with one rider on each end.
Jump on me and I throw you right back up into the air. What am I?
easy
A trampoline.
A trampoline's stretchy mat pushes you back up when you land.
Two friends swing me around and around while a third friend jumps over me. What am I?
easy
A jump rope.
Two people turn a long jump rope while someone jumps in the middle.
I'm a bear who has never growled, never caught a fish and never slept through a winter, but I sleep in your bed every night. What am I?
easy
A teddy bear.
Real bears growl, fish and sleep through the winter. A teddy bear is a stuffed toy that only does the last part, in your bed.
You sleep inside me when you go camping, and I fold up small enough to carry. What am I?
easy
A tent.
A tent is a shelter made of cloth and poles that packs into a bag.
Press my button and I shine a beam in the dark. I need batteries to work. What am I?
easy
A flashlight.
A flashlight is a small light you carry, powered by batteries.
I'm a piece of land with water on every side. What am I?
easy
An island.
An island is land with water all the way around it.
We sit over your ears and play music that only you can hear. What are we?
easy
Headphones.
Headphones play sound right into your ears, so people nearby hear little or nothing.
Medium
I fly without wings and cry without eyes. What am I?
medium
A cloud.
Clouds float across the sky and drop rain, which the riddle calls crying.
I pass in front of the sun but cast no shadow, and I can whistle without a mouth. What am I?
medium
The wind.
Wind is moving air, so it throws no shadow, and it whistles as it rushes past things.
You hear me after my bright partner flashes across the sky, and I can rattle your windows. What am I?
medium
Thunder.
Lightning makes the flash and thunder is its sound. The sound arrives later because light travels faster than sound.
We live in two rows inside a red cave. We bite and chew all day, but we never swallow a thing. What are we?
medium
Teeth.
The red cave is your mouth. Teeth bite and chew, and your throat does the swallowing.
I have a peak but no cap, a face but no eyes, and my head is often in the clouds. What am I?
medium
A mountain.
A mountain's top is its peak, a steep side is called a face, and high peaks reach the clouds.
The dirtier I get, the whiter I become. What am I?
medium
A chalkboard.
Writing on a chalkboard leaves white chalk marks, so the more it is used, the whiter it gets.
I have three feet but no legs, and I lie flat and straight. What am I?
medium
A yardstick.
A yardstick is a ruler one yard long, and a yard is three feet.
I sit on your nose and hook over your ears. I help you see, but I have no eyes of my own. What am I?
medium
Glasses.
Glasses rest on your nose, their arms hook over your ears, and their lenses help your eyes.
I have a rim and a net with no bottom. Players cheer when a ball drops through me. What am I?
medium
A basketball hoop.
A basketball hoop is a metal rim with an open net hanging from it, and a basket counts when the ball drops through.
I come in hundreds of pieces, but I'm not broken. Fit me together and I show a picture. What am I?
medium
A jigsaw puzzle.
A jigsaw puzzle starts in pieces and makes a picture once it is put together.
I spread from person to person, but I'm not a germ. I open your mouth wide when you're tired or bored. What am I?
medium
A yawn.
Seeing someone yawn often makes other people yawn too.
Everyone has me, no two of me are exactly alike, and I'm left behind on everything you touch. What am I?
medium
A fingerprint.
The ridges on each fingertip form a pattern of their own, and they leave marks on what you touch.
I stand by the sea with one bright eye. I stay awake all night so ships don't hit the rocks. What am I?
medium
A lighthouse.
A lighthouse shines its light at night to warn ships away from rocks.
I'm frozen, yet I float. Most of me hides under the water, and ships steer well clear of me. What am I?
medium
An iceberg.
Ice floats, but most of an iceberg sits below the waterline, where ships cannot see it.
I go up and down, but I'm not stairs. I have doors but no house, and buttons but no shirt. What am I?
medium
An elevator.
An elevator carries people between floors, and you press its buttons to choose one.
I'm all around you, but you can't see me. You can't live without me, and you breathe me in all day. What am I?
medium
Air.
Air is invisible, and you breathe it in all the time to stay alive.
My first letter is in RED but not in BED. My second is in HOT but not in HAT. My third is in BIG but not in PIG. My fourth is in DOG but not in DIG. My fifth is in TEN but not in PEN. I'm built from metal and follow orders. What am I?
medium
A robot.
The letters are R, O, B, O and T.
I have blades, but I never cut anything. I turn all summer to keep you cool. What am I?
medium
A fan.
A fan's blades spin to push air around, not to cut.
Everyone wipes their feet on me, and I still say welcome. What am I?
medium
A doormat.
Many doormats have WELCOME written on them, even though people wipe their shoes on them.
I whistle when I'm ready, but I have no lips. What am I?
medium
A kettle.
A kettle whistles when the water inside boils and steam rushes out.
My number climbs on a hot day and drops on a cold one. What am I?
medium
A thermometer.
A thermometer shows the temperature, which rises when it is hot and falls when it is cold.
I follow a needle everywhere it goes, and I hold your buttons on. What am I?
medium
Thread.
Thread goes through the eye of a needle and is sewn in to hold buttons in place.
I'm a pig that eats only coins, and you have to shake me to get them back. What am I?
medium
A piggy bank.
A piggy bank is a coin box shaped like a pig, with a slot on its back.
I'm a river that jumps off a cliff. What am I?
medium
A waterfall.
A waterfall forms where a river drops over a steep edge.
I'm a cloud that sits on the ground and hides the road ahead. What am I?
medium
Fog.
Fog is a cloud that forms close to the ground.
I go on every trip but never see the sights. I'm packed full, then emptied again when you get home. What am I?
medium
A suitcase.
A suitcase travels with you but stays shut in the hotel room.
I'm red with eight sides, and every driver obeys the one word I say. What am I?
medium
A stop sign.
A stop sign is a red eight-sided sign with the single word STOP.
I only happen while you sleep. I can be silly or scary, and I fade away soon after you wake up. What am I?
medium
A dream.
Dreams happen during sleep, and many are forgotten soon after you wake up.
Hard
Pull me out and scratch my head. My head was red, and now it's black. What am I?
hard
A match.
You pull a match from its box and strike its head, and the burned head turns black.
Eight of us stand in a row. We march only forward, never back, to protect our king. What are we?
hard
The pawns in a game of chess.
Each chess player starts with eight pawns in a row in front of the king, and pawns can only move forward.
I'm called new every month, though I'm billions of years old. I can be full, though nothing is ever poured into me, and I pull on every ocean without hands. What am I?
hard
The moon.
New moon and full moon are phases of the same moon, and the moon's pull causes the ocean tides.
I disappear every time you stand up and come back when you sit down. What am I?
hard
Your lap.
Your lap only exists when you are sitting.
I have a north and a south but no east or west. I pull iron toward me without any arms. What am I?
hard
A magnet.
Every magnet has a north pole and a south pole, and it pulls on iron.
I have a thousand wheels, but I never move. Call me what I am: call me a lot. What am I?
hard
A parking lot.
The wheels belong to the parked cars, and the last words of the riddle give away the name.
I spin on the roof and point the way the wind comes from, but I can't say a single word about the weather. What am I?
hard
A weather vane.
A weather vane turns to show which way the wind is blowing.
I have one eye and blink it in a flash, but I never see anything myself. Whatever I look at, I remember exactly. What am I?
hard
A camera.
The lens is the eye, the shutter blinks, and the photo remembers the scene.
I wear down mountains over thousands of years, I pile up into dunes, and I sneak into your shoes at the beach. What am I?
hard
Sand.
Rock slowly breaks down into sand, wind piles it into dunes, and it gets everywhere at the beach.
I'm an instrument you can hear but never touch or see, and you carry me everywhere you go. What am I?
hard
Your voice.
People call the voice an instrument, and it makes sound with no part you can hold.
I have a long, glowing tail, but I'm not an animal. I swing close to the sun and then disappear for years. What am I?
hard
A comet.
A comet is a ball of ice and dust. Near the sun it grows a glowing tail, and many take years to come back.
We stand in a long line. Push the first of us over and we all fall, one after another. What are we?
hard
Dominoes.
Stood on end in a row, each domino knocks over the next.
I have roots, but I'm not planted. I grow a little every time a baby joins your family. What am I?
hard
A family tree.
A family tree is a chart of your relatives. Your ancestors are its roots, and each new baby adds to it.
I have a drum that nobody ever plays, and I listen all day long. What am I?
hard
Your ear.
Inside your ear is a thin skin called the eardrum, which shakes when sound reaches it.
I'm a club that nobody joins, and I swing at a small white ball. What am I?
hard
A golf club.
"Club" can mean a group of people or the stick a golfer swings.
I'm a spring, but no water flows from me. Squeeze me and I bounce right back. What am I?
hard
A metal spring, or coil.
A spring can be a place where water comes out of the ground, or a coil of metal that pushes back when you press it.
I have a trunk but I'm not an elephant, a hood but I'm not a coat, and a horn but I'm not in a band. What am I?
hard
A car.
A car has a trunk for luggage, a hood over the engine and a horn to honk.
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.