These are 45 good riddles for kids, sorted into three age bands: 4 to 6, 7 to 9 and 10 to 12. Every riddle has two hints, a hidden answer and a one-line reason it works. The site also has topic pages for easy, funny, hard and seasonal riddles, and a riddle of the day.
Pick a random riddleI glow in the night sky, but I make no light of my own. I change from a thin curve to a big circle. What am I?
Look for me when it is dark.
Astronauts have walked on me.
The moon
Why it works: The moon shines by reflecting sunlight, and its lit part changes shape through the month.
Did you guess it?
From What am I riddles
For
Coming up
60 Halloween riddles for kids aged 4 to 12, sorted by age, each with two hints and a hidden answer. Print them as cards for a party, a classroom or a treat bag.
Open the Halloween riddlesEvery set has hints, hidden answers and age labels, and prints as cards.
There is one new riddle each day on the riddle of the day page. For ages 4 to 6, the easy riddles start with familiar objects you can read aloud, and every animal riddle uses a real animal fact as its clue. Kids who like a joke can try funny riddles or guess the mystery thing in what am I riddles.
Ages 10 to 12 get the tougher tricks in hard riddles and multi-step number puzzles in math riddles. For a party or classroom, the scavenger hunt riddles print as clue cards, and each clue points to a hiding spot. The seasonal sets follow the calendar: Halloween, fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas and winter riddles.
Confident readers have three more sets. The riddles for middle schoolers are logic, wordplay and number puzzles for grades 6 to 8. Word riddles play with letters, spelling and words that mean two things, and science riddles cover magnets, weather, space, plants and the human body. Both are for ages 7 to 12.
Short, fun riddles about animals, food and toys that a grown-up can read aloud.
I have colorful feathers and can copy some words you say. I grip a perch with my feet. What am I?
I am a bird with a curved beak.
Some of us can learn to say hello.
A parrot
Why it works: A parrot grips branches with its feet, and some parrots can copy human speech.
Did you guess it?
I have a flat tail and strong front teeth. I build dams from branches. What am I?
I am an animal that swims in rivers.
My wooden dam makes a pond.
A beaver
Why it works: A beaver uses branches to build dams and has a broad, flat tail.
Did you guess it?
I am baked in an oven. You spread butter on me, and two slices of me make a sandwich. What am I?
I am a food.
I come in loaves.
Bread
Why it works: Bread is baked, sliced and used to make sandwiches.
Did you guess it?
I am orange and crunchy. I grow under the ground, and rabbits love to nibble me. What am I?
I am a vegetable.
I have green leaves on top.
A carrot
Why it works: A carrot is a crunchy orange vegetable that grows underground.
Did you guess it?
I am small, red and shaped a bit like a heart. My tiny seeds grow on the outside of my skin. What am I?
I am a sweet fruit.
I am often served with cream.
A strawberry
Why it works: A strawberry is red and heart-shaped with seeds on its outside.
Did you guess it?
I am a round red fruit, but I go in salad instead of fruit salad. My seeds sit in juicy pockets. What am I?
I grow on a leafy plant.
People cook me into a red sauce for pasta.
A tomato
Why it works: A tomato is a juicy fruit commonly used in salads and pasta sauce.
Did you guess it?
I swing from branch to branch. I have a long tail, I chatter, and I love to climb. What am I?
I live in a jungle.
I make a funny face at the zoo.
A monkey
Why it works: Many monkeys climb and leap between branches, using their hands and feet to grip.
Did you guess it?
I am a toy person with clothes you can change. You may tuck me into a tiny bed. What am I?
You can brush my pretend hair.
Some of us have eyes that close when we lie down.
A doll
Why it works: A doll is a toy shaped like a person that children can dress and care for.
Did you guess it?
I float on water and carry people across it. I might have oars or a sail. What am I?
I am used on a lake or the sea.
Row, row, row me.
A boat
Why it works: A boat floats on water and carries people from place to place.
Did you guess it?
I am a tiny fruit that grows in a bunch. I can be green or purple. What am I?
I grow on a vine.
Dry me out and I become a raisin.
A grape
Why it works: A grape grows in clusters on a vine and becomes a raisin when dried.
Did you guess it?
I am round and shiny and I float in the air. You blow me with soap, and I pop with a touch. What am I?
I am fun in the bath.
I am made with a wand and soapy water.
A bubble
Why it works: A soap bubble floats in the air and pops when touched.
Did you guess it?
I run on tracks and say choo choo. I have lots of cars joined together in a line. What am I?
I am a long vehicle.
I stop at stations.
A train
Why it works: A train runs on rails with many cars linked together.
Did you guess it?
I have long ears and bray loudly. I am a farm animal with hooves. What am I?
My call sounds like hee-haw.
I am related to a horse but usually have much longer ears.
A donkey
Why it works: A donkey has long ears, hooves and a braying call.
Did you guess it?
I am made of many little pieces. Fit them together to reveal one big picture. What am I?
I am a tabletop game.
Start with the pieces that have straight edges.
A jigsaw puzzle
Why it works: A jigsaw puzzle forms a picture when its shaped pieces fit together.
Did you guess it?
Bang, bang! You hit me with sticks and I make a loud beat. What am I?
I am used in music.
A band needs me to keep the beat.
A drum
Why it works: A drum makes a loud beat when it is struck with sticks.
Did you guess it?
Puns, simple wordplay and light logic for children who are reading on their own.
I have two legs that open and close. I snip paper and cloth, and you hold me by two round handles. What am I?
I am found in an art box or a craft drawer.
You use me to cut out shapes.
Scissors
Why it works: Scissors have two legs, joined at the middle, that close to snip paper.
Did you guess it?
I have two slices on the outside and a tasty secret in the middle. What am I?
I am a lunch food.
The slices are bread, and I am often cut in half.
A sandwich
Why it works: A sandwich has bread slices around a filling.
Did you guess it?
I turn the dark into a bright circle on the wall. You press my button to wake my light. What am I?
I run on batteries.
I am handy in a power outage or a camping trip.
A flashlight
Why it works: A flashlight makes a beam of light when you press its button.
Did you guess it?
What is black and white and read all over?
The word read sounds like a color.
You can read it at breakfast.
A newspaper
Why it works: Read sounds like red, so it is black and white and read all over.
Did you guess it?
I am a straight rod through the centers of a toy car's wheels. What am I?
Some wheels spin on me; others turn with me.
My four-letter name begins with ax.
An axle
Why it works: An axle is a rod that supports a wheel or a pair of wheels.
Did you guess it?
I am a number. Half of me is 9. What number am I?
What do you get when you double 9?
Half of me is 9, so I am two nines.
18
Why it works: Half of 18 is 9, so 18 is 2 times 9.
Did you guess it?
I have spots but no fur. I am a small tile with two halves, and you match my numbers to play. What am I?
I belong in a tabletop game.
My dots tell you which ends can meet.
A domino
Why it works: A domino is a two-part numbered tile used in games that match equal ends.
Did you guess it?
What did one wall say to the other wall?
Think about where two walls join.
It is a place where walls meet.
I will meet you at the corner
Why it works: Two walls meet at a corner, so that is where they would meet.
Did you guess it?
I am a tall garden plant with a big golden face and edible seeds. My name begins with our nearest star. What am I?
My face has a dark center surrounded by yellow petals.
Birds enjoy picking seeds from my head.
A sunflower
Why it works: A sunflower has a large flowerhead, edible seeds and a name beginning with sun.
Did you guess it?
I slip through a hole to hold your shirt closed. I am small and round, and sewn onto the cloth. What am I?
I am a clothing fastener.
A shirt may have a row of me down its front.
A button
Why it works: A button slips through a matching buttonhole to hold clothing closed.
Did you guess it?
I am yellow and thin and I have a point. I wear a pink hat, and I write in gray, not ink. What am I?
You use me at school.
My pink hat rubs out mistakes.
A pencil
Why it works: A pencil has a point, writes in graphite and has an eraser on its end.
Did you guess it?
I am a metal loop that holds several door-openers together. Carry me in your pocket so they do not get lost. What am I?
Small toothed objects hang from me.
My split loop opens just enough to add another item.
A key ring
Why it works: A key ring holds keys together on a small loop.
Did you guess it?
What can travel around the world while staying in one corner?
You put it on an envelope.
It goes in the top corner of a letter.
A stamp
Why it works: A stamp sits in the corner of a letter and goes wherever the letter goes.
Did you guess it?
What is easy to get into but very hard to get out of?
It is not a place.
Grown-ups say you are in it when you misbehave.
Trouble
Why it works: People get into trouble easily, but it is hard to get out of it.
Did you guess it?
A child opens a book at night with no lamp switched on, yet reads every word by touch. How?
Reading does not always require looking at printed letters.
Raised dots can represent letters and words.
The book is in Braille
Why it works: Braille uses raised dots that readers recognize with their fingertips.
Did you guess it?
What can you hold during a quiet pause without using your hands?
Think about air moving in and out.
The phrase means briefly pausing your breathing.
Your breath
Why it works: Holding your breath means pausing your breathing, so no hands are needed.
Did you guess it?
Double meanings, number puzzles and lateral thinking for older kids and families.
I have a weight that swings from side to side. In some old clocks my regular motion helps keep time. What am I?
Think of a repeated swinging motion.
A rod or string holds my weight from a fixed point.
A pendulum
Why it works: A pendulum swings back and forth, providing regular timing in some clocks.
Did you guess it?
It is Monday today. What day of the week will it be 100 days from now?
A week has 7 days, so the days repeat every 7.
Divide 100 by 7 and look at what is left over.
Wednesday
Why it works: 100 days is 14 weeks plus 2 days, and 2 days after Monday is Wednesday.
Did you guess it?
A box holds only blue and green beads. There are 9 beads, and twice as many blue as green. How many are green?
Imagine equal groups for the two colors.
Green is one group and blue is two groups of the same size.
3
Why it works: Three equal groups total 9, so each group has 3 and there are 3 green beads.
Did you guess it?
Which word meaning glowing becomes the opposite of left when you remove its first letter?
The first word describes a strong light.
Remove its opening B to leave a direction.
Bright
Why it works: Removing B from bright leaves right, the opposite of left.
Did you guess it?
I am a number between 30 and 60. I am in the 4 times table and in the 6 times table, and my digits add up to 9. What number am I?
Numbers in both tables go up in steps of 12.
Two numbers between 30 and 60 fit the tables. Add the digits of each.
36
Why it works: 36 is in both tables and 3 plus 6 makes 9.
Did you guess it?
If you multiply me by any other number, the answer is always the same. What number am I?
Try multiplying me by 5.
Try multiplying me by 10.
Zero
Why it works: Zero times any number equals zero.
Did you guess it?
I am a two-digit number. My digits add up to 9, and my tens digit is double my ones digit. What number am I?
List the pairs of digits that add up to 9.
Check which pair has one digit twice the other.
63
Why it works: 6 plus 3 is 9, and 6 is double 3, so the number is 63.
Did you guess it?
I am so fragile that if you say my name, I disappear. What am I?
I am the opposite of noise.
You cannot hear me.
Silence
Why it works: Saying the word silence makes a sound, so the silence is gone.
Did you guess it?
What number comes next: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13?
These are prime numbers.
A prime has only two factors, one and itself.
17
Why it works: The next prime after 13 is 17.
Did you guess it?
A basket contains 8 apples. Eight children each take one, yet one apple stays in the basket. How?
Taking an apple does not mean taking it out of its container.
Consider what else the final child might carry away.
The last child takes the basket with the apple inside
Why it works: The last child takes the remaining apple inside its basket, so all eight children have one.
Did you guess it?
A number has three digits. Its hundreds digit is 2, its tens digit is 3 more than its hundreds digit, and its ones digit is half its hundreds digit. What is it?
Work out each place separately.
The hundreds place is given; use it to find the other two digits.
251
Why it works: The digits are 2, 2 + 3 = 5, and 2 / 2 = 1, making 251.
Did you guess it?
A robot turns right, right, left, then right. It started facing north. Which direction does it face now?
Track each quarter turn in order.
The first turn faces east; keep rotating from there.
South
Why it works: The robot faces east, south, east, then south.
Did you guess it?
A rectangle has a perimeter of 30 units. Its length is twice its width. What is its width?
A perimeter includes two lengths and two widths.
If each width is one part, each length is two parts, giving six parts around the edge.
5 units
Why it works: Two lengths and two widths make six equal parts, so the width is 30 / 6 = 5 units.
Did you guess it?
What is the next letter in this line: O, T, T, F, F, S, S, E, ?
Say the numbers one, two, three out loud.
Each letter is the first letter of a number.
N
Why it works: The letters are the first letters of one to eight, so nine gives N.
Did you guess it?
No riddles match both filters. Try another age or difficulty.
Pick the age band that matches your child, then try one riddle from the next band up to stretch them.
Read the riddle aloud once, wait, and give hint 1 only after a guess or a long pause. Save hint 2 for last.
After the answer, read the one-line explanation. It shows how the trick works and helps kids spot it next time.
Take turns reading, so everyone gets to be the riddle master in the family or classroom.
Print the cards for car trips or lunchboxes, and keep the answer key for yourself.
Good riddles are fair, so every clue fits one answer, and they are fun to work out. They use things kids know, like animals, food and words, and they feel clever once solved. Every riddle here has two hints and a short explanation.
Ages 4 to 12. Each riddle is labeled 4 to 6, 7 to 9 or 10 to 12. The 4 to 6 riddles use short clues that read aloud well. The 10 to 12 riddles add puns, number puzzles and lateral thinking. Mix bands when a family plays together.
Read the riddle, let children guess for about a minute, then share hint 1 and hint 2. Let teams score a point for each correct answer, or skip points if you want it relaxed. Finish by reading the explanation together.
Yes. Use the print option to make cards that show the riddles and hints. The answers print separately on an answer key, so children cannot see them. Cards work well for lunchboxes, classroom stations and long car rides.
Offer hint 1, then hint 2, and ask what they notice. If it is still hard, tell the answer and read the explanation. Stuck moments are normal. Try an easier riddle next so they finish on a win.