Did you know that doing riddles can help kids develop problem-solving skills and enhance their critical thinking abilities? And they aren't the only ones who stand to benefit from these brainteasers. Researchers maintain that riddles actually function as valuable teaching tools for medical students. Some instructors have even taken to developing their own riddles, presenting students with questions to which answers cannot easily be found online or in textbooks. Of course, we've all got to start somewhere. While you aren't likely to find any of these riddles in modern medical literature, they are a great way to get the kids thinking in new and analytical ways. Check out the list below to get started.
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85 of the Best Kids Riddles Around
Entertain kids with these riddles after school, on the road, or anywhere you see fit!
Easy Riddles for Kids
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- Riddle: A man dies of old age on his 25th birthday. How is this possible?
- Riddle: What has four legs but cannot walk?
- Riddle: What’s bright orange with green on top and sounds like a parrot?
- Riddle: You’re running a race. At the very end, you pass the person in second place. In what place did you finish the race?
- Riddle: I’m always on the dinner table, but I'm never part of the meal. What am I?
- Riddle: Five children and three dogs were stuck outside without an umbrella, but none of them got wet. How is that possible?
- Riddle: What can you put in your right hand but not your left?
- Riddle: If you find three apples and take away two, how many apples do you have?
- Riddle: Where does one wall meet the other wall?
- Riddle: What’s the capital of France?
- Riddle: What kind of band never plays music?
- Riddle: How many animals did Moses take on the ark?
- Riddle: What building has the most stories?
- Riddle: I follow you all the time and copy your every move, but you can’t touch me or catch me. What am I?
Answer: He was born on a leap year.
Answer: Your kitchen table.
Answer: A carrot.
Answer: Second place.
Answer: Plates and silverware.
Answer: Because it wasn’t raining.
Answer: Your left elbow.
Answer: Two apples—the same number you took out of the basket.
Answer: On the corner.
Answer: The letter "F," of course! It’s the only capital letter in the word.
Answer: A rubber band.
Answer: None—Moses wasn't on the ark. That was Noah.
Answer: The library.
Answer: Your shadow.
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Word Riddles
- Riddle: I am an odd number. Take away one letter and I become even. What number am I?
- Riddle: What begins with an "e" and only contains one letter?
- Riddle: Figure out the word: The first two letters signify a male while the first three letters signify a female; the first four letters signify a champion while the entire world signifies a great woman. What word is it?
- Riddle: There’s only one word in the dictionary that’s spelled wrong. What is it?
- Riddle: What five-letter word has one left when two are removed?
- Riddle: What is the end of everything?
- Riddle: How do you make the number one disappear?
- Riddle: What four-letter word can be written forward, backward or upside down, and can still be read from left to right?
- Riddle: I am a word that begins with the letter "i." If you add the letter "a" to me, I become a new word with a different meaning, but that sounds exactly the same. What word am I?
- Riddle: What five-letter word becomes shorter after adding two letters?
- Riddle: Two in a corner, one in a room, none in a house, but one in a shelter. What is it?
- Riddle: What word is 3/7 chicken, 2/3 cat, and 1/2 goat?
Answer: Seven.
Answer: An envelope.
Answer: Heroine.
Answer: The word "wrong."
Answer: Stone.
Answer: The letter "g."
Answer: By adding the letter "g." Then, it's "gone."
Answer: NOON.
Answer: Isle.
Answer: Short.
Answer: The letter "r."
Answer: Chicago.
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Animal Riddles for Kids
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- Riddle: A rooster is sitting on top of a barn. If it laid an egg, which way would it roll?
- Riddle: I munch leaves from treetops but my feet never leave the ground. What am I?
- Riddle: There were two ducks in front of a duck, two ducks behind a duck, and one duck in the middle. How many ducks were there in total?
- Riddle: What do you call a chihuahua in July?
- Riddle: Why can't a leopard hide well?
- Riddle: What animal jumps when it walks and sits when it stands?
- Riddle: Where does a hippopotamus stash his money?
- Riddle: I don't have any ears, eyes, or legs but I can move the earth if you give me enough time. What am I?
- Riddle: What animal is named after an animal that it eats?
- Riddle: My legs stand taller than most humans. What animal am I?
- Riddle: What animal is known as a king but has no crown?
- Riddle: What jungle cat is no fun to play games with?
Answer: It wouldn't—roosters don’t lay eggs.
Answer: A giraffe.
Answer: Three ducks.
Answer: A hot dog!
Answer: Because it's always spotted.
Answer: A kangaroo.
Answer: At the riverbank.
Answer: A worm.
Answer: An anteater.
Answer: A giraffe.
Answer: A lion.
Answer: A cheetah.
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Math Riddles for Kids
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- Riddle: When Sam was eight, his brother was half his age. Now, Sam is 14. How old is his brother?
- Riddle: What three numbers, none of which is zero, give the same result when added as they do when multiplied?
- Riddle: A girl has just as many brothers as she does sisters, but each boy has only half as many brothers as he does sisters. How many brothers and sisters are there in the family?
- Riddle: What can you put between seven and eight to make the result greater than seven but less than eight?
- Riddle: Mrs. Murray has five daughters. Each of these daughters has a brother. How many children does Mrs. Murray have?
Answer: He is 10 years old.
Answer: One, two, and three.
Answer: Four sisters and three brothers.
Answer: A decimal point. That way you're left with 7.8.
Answer: She has six children—five daughters and one son. Each daughter has the same brother.
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Tricky Riddles for Kids
Shutterstock / Zaretska Olga
- Riddle: What has a thumb and four fingers? Hint: it's not a hand.
- Riddle: What can you hear but not see, touch or smell, even though you are in control of it?
- Riddle: If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what are four and five?
- Riddle: A girl fell off a 20-foot ladder, so why didn't she get hurt?
- Riddle: The red house is made with red bricks and the yellow house is made with yellow bricks. What did they use to build the green house?
- Riddle: Leah has a very big family. There are 25 uncles, 25 aunts, and 40 cousins. Each of her cousins has an uncle who is not Leah's uncle. How is this possible?
- Riddle: Abby's mother has three children. Two are Madeline and Samantha. What's the third one's name?
- Riddle: What has one head, one foot, and four legs?
- Riddle: Three doctors said that Ben was their brother, but Ben says he has no brothers. How many brothers does Ben actually have?
- Riddle: You live in a one-story house made entirely of wood, but everything is painted blue. What color are the stairs?
Answer: A glove.
Answer: Your voice.
Answer: Added together, they make nine.
Answer: She only fell from the bottom step.
Answer: Glass. After all, greenhouses are always made of glass.
Answer: Their uncle is Leah's father.
Answer: Abby! Remember, we're talking about Abby's mother.
Answer: A bed.
Answer: None. Ben has three sisters and they are all doctors.
Answer: What stairs? You live in a one-story house.
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"What Am I" Riddles for Kids
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- Riddle: I have many teeth, but I cannot bite. What am I?
- Riddle: I create two people out of one. What am I?
- Riddle: I am as light as a feather, yet no man can hold me for long. What am I?
- Riddle: I have two hands, but I cannot lift a thing. What am I?
- Riddle: The more you take away, the bigger I become. What am I?
- Riddle: I can be cracked, I can be made. I can be told, I can be played. What am I?
- Riddle: I shave every day, but my beard stays the same length. What am I?
- Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young, short when I’m old. What am I?
Answer: A comb.
Answer: A mirror.
Answer: Your breath.
Answer: A clock.
Answer: A hole.
Answer: A joke!
Answer: A barber.
Answer: A candle.
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Funny Riddles for Kids
Shutterstock / Dmitry Lobanov
- Riddle: What has four wheels and flies?
- Riddle: What’s really easy to get into, and hard to get out of?
- Riddle: What is one thing you can't fit in a saucepan?
- Riddle: You can always count on me, even when things go wrong. What am I?
- Riddle: What question can you never answer yes to?
- Riddle: All the berries enjoyed the party except one. Why?
- Riddle: Why did the tortilla chip start dancing?
- Riddle: How is a room full of married folks similar to an empty room?
- Riddle: Where would you take a sick boat?
- Riddle: What can you catch, but not throw?
- Riddle: A group of bunnies was having a birthday party. What kind of music were they listening to?
- Riddle: What's the most expensive kind of fish?
Answer: A garbage truck.
Answer: Trouble.
Answer: The lid.
Answer: Your fingers.
Answer: Are you asleep yet?
Answer: Because he was a blueberry.
Answer: Because they put on the salsa.
Answer: There isn't a single person in it.
Answer: To the dock.
Answer: A cold.
Answer: Hip hop.
Answer: A goldfish.
Hard Riddles
Shutterstock / michaeljung
- Riddle: Two fathers and two sons walk into a candy shop and buy one candy bar for 50 cents each. They walk out only spending $1.50. How do they do that?
- Riddle: A man went out for a walk in the rain. He didn’t bring an umbrella or a hat. His clothes got soaked, but not a single hair on his head got wet. How is this possible?
- Riddle: What has many keys but can’t open any doors?
- Riddle: It is the only place in the world where today comes before yesterday. Where is it?
- Riddle: You see me once in June, twice in November, and not at all in May. What am I?
- Riddle: It belongs to you, but it's more often used by others. What is it?
- Riddle: Why was six afraid of seven?
- Riddle: What is as big as an elephant, but does not weigh anything at all?
- Riddle: What are two things you can never have for breakfast?
- Riddle: I make loud sounds changing. Afterward, I'm bigger but I weigh less. What am I?
- Riddle: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?
- Riddle: You’ll find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars, and Jupiter, but not in Venus or Neptune. What am I?
Answer: There are three people in the group, a grandfather, his son, and his grandson.
Answer: The man didn't have any hair, he was bald.
Answer: A piano.
Answer: The dictionary.
Answer: The letter "e."
Answer: Your name.
Answer: Because seven ate nine!
Answer: An elephant's shadow.
Answer: Lunch and dinner.
Answer: Popcorn.
Answer: Footsteps.
Answer: The letter "r."
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Wrapping Up
We hope you enjoyed the list! Continue the fun by developing some riddles of your own. The exercise can help support logical abilities and strengthen focus. You can also check back in with us soon for more fun things to do with individuals of all ages. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter so that you don't miss out.
