What am I riddles describe an object, animal or place in the first person and ask you to guess it from the clues. These 45 what am I riddles for kids are sorted into things at home, things in nature and places outside. Each one has two hints, a hidden answer and a one-line reason it works.
Pillows, mirrors, zippers, hammers and other things kids see every day, from easy to tricky.
I am soft and squishy. You rest your sleepy head on me every night. What am I?
I live in a bedroom.
I sit at the top of your bed.
A pillow
Why it works: A pillow is the soft thing you lay your head on to sleep.
Did you guess it?
I have a handle and a head covered in tiny bristles. You use me with paste, morning and night, to keep your smile clean. What am I?
You find me in the bathroom.
I scrub your smile every day.
A toothbrush
Why it works: A toothbrush has bristles on a handle and is used with toothpaste to clean your teeth.
Did you guess it?
I come in pairs, but one of me often goes missing in the wash. I keep your toes warm. What am I?
You wear me on your feet.
I go on before your shoes do.
A sock
Why it works: Socks are sold in pairs and worn on your feet to keep toes warm.
Did you guess it?
I have four legs but I never walk. I wait for you all day, and I hold you all night. What am I?
You find me where you sleep.
I have a soft mattress and a blanket on top.
A bed
Why it works: A bed has legs but cannot walk, and it holds you while you sleep at night.
Did you guess it?
I show you yourself, but I never say a word. When you smile at me, I smile back. What am I?
Look into me and you will see your face.
I am smooth and shiny, and I hang on a wall.
A mirror
Why it works: A mirror reflects whatever stands in front of it, so it copies your smile.
Did you guess it?
I am a long, bright strip tied to a dancer's stick. I draw loops in the air without leaving marks. What am I?
Watch me trail behind the moving stick.
My long strip curls and swirls as the dancer moves.
A dancing ribbon
Why it works: A dancing ribbon makes temporary shapes in the air as its stick moves.
Did you guess it?
I am a tiny boat made from one folded sheet. Float me gently in a tray of water. What am I?
You can make me at a craft table.
Folds turn a flat sheet into my pointed shape.
A paper boat
Why it works: A paper boat is a folded craft that can float briefly on water.
Did you guess it?
I have a wide mouth and one handle. You tip me to pour juice into cups. What am I?
I hold drinks for several people.
My little spout helps direct the stream.
A pitcher
Why it works: A pitcher is a handled container with a spout for pouring drinks.
Did you guess it?
I get smaller every time you use me. I am slippery when wet, and I make bubbles when you scrub. What am I?
You use me to wash your hands.
I come in a bar or as a liquid in a pump.
A bar of soap
Why it works: Soap shrinks a little each time it is used and foams when wet.
Did you guess it?
I am see-through, but I am not water. I keep out the rain and the cold, yet I let the light in. What am I?
I am part of a wall.
You can look out through me, and open me for fresh air.
A window
Why it works: A window is clear glass in a wall that blocks weather but lets in light.
Did you guess it?
I have a spine but no bones. Open me and I can tell you a story without making a single sound. What am I?
You can borrow me from the library.
You read me, and my pages turn.
A book
Why it works: A book's spine is the edge that holds its pages together.
Did you guess it?
I have teeth but I do not bite. I run up and down a track, and when I close, I hold your coat shut. What am I?
I am on jackets, bags and pencil cases.
You pull my little tab up or down.
A zipper
Why it works: A zipper has metal or plastic teeth that lock together to close a coat.
Did you guess it?
I wear your clothes while you do not. My hooked head rests on a rail inside a closet. What am I?
I help keep shirts from getting crumpled.
My sloping shoulders fit inside a shirt.
A clothes hanger
Why it works: A clothes hanger supports a garment by its shoulders while its hook hangs from a rail.
Did you guess it?
I have a head that strikes but no brain. My claw pulls metal pins from wood. What am I?
A grown-up keeps me in a toolbox.
My flat end drives nails and my forked end pulls them out.
A hammer
Why it works: A claw hammer drives nails with its head and pulls them out with its claw.
Did you guess it?
I lie under just one person's plate to protect the table, but I never eat a bite. What am I?
Each diner can have one.
I am a small flat layer beneath one place setting.
A placemat
Why it works: A placemat protects the table beneath a diner's plate and utensils.
Did you guess it?
I roll across soft dough and make it flatter, but I have no wheels. What am I?
Look for me among baking tools.
My smooth cylinder presses pastry into an even sheet.
A rolling pin
Why it works: A rolling pin rotates over dough to flatten it evenly.
Did you guess it?
I grow longer when you pull my end, then curl back into a small case. My numbers measure length. What am I?
Builders keep me in a toolbox.
My flexible strip measures things too large for a school ruler.
A tape measure
Why it works: A tape measure has a numbered strip that extends from and retracts into its case.
Did you guess it?
I count with sliding beads instead of a screen. Move my beads to show a number. What am I?
I am an old calculating tool.
My beads slide on rods inside a frame.
An abacus
Why it works: An abacus represents numbers using beads arranged on rods.
Did you guess it?
Turn my handle and I open a path for water from the pipe. Close me and the water stops. What am I?
You find me above a sink.
Water pours from my spout when my valve opens.
A faucet
Why it works: A faucet controls water flow through a valve operated by its handle.
Did you guess it?
I press onto a smooth tile and hold a hook without glue. Pull my edge and I let go. What am I?
I am made of soft, flexible material.
Air pressure helps hold me against the smooth surface.
A suction cup
Why it works: A suction cup seals against a surface so greater outside air pressure holds it in place.
Did you guess it?
I have a narrow waist, and tiny grains trickle through it. When my top runs empty, someone flips me and I start again. What am I?
I measure time.
I am filled with sand.
An hourglass
Why it works: An hourglass passes sand through a narrow neck to measure a set time.
Did you guess it?
I show the dates for a single year on twelve paper pages. I hang on a wall and help you plan birthdays. What am I?
You check me to find today's date.
I am divided into months.
A calendar
Why it works: A paper calendar organizes a year into months and dates for planning events.
Did you guess it?
I am a tiny glass world for plants. My clear walls let light in, and damp soil rests at my bottom. What am I?
I can sit on a desk or shelf.
Mosses and small plants grow inside my glass container.
A terrarium
Why it works: A terrarium is a glass container in which small plants grow.
Did you guess it?
Plants, the moon, morning dew, mountains and the sea, with simple clues first and cleverer ones for older kids.
I am a long fruit, green outside and crisp inside. Slice me into circles for a salad. What am I?
I grow on a vine.
My pale middle contains small seeds.
A cucumber
Why it works: A cucumber is a long green fruit commonly sliced into salads.
Did you guess it?
I 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?
I am a small bell-shaped flower that hangs down. My name sounds like a color and something that rings. What am I?
I grow in groups on woodland floors.
My petals are usually blue or violet.
A bluebell
Why it works: A bluebell is a woodland flower named for its color and bell-like shape.
Did you guess it?
I have a foot at my bottom and a peak at my top. I wear a white cap in winter, and I never walk anywhere. What am I?
Climbers try to reach my top.
I am much taller than a hill.
A mountain
Why it works: A mountain has a foot, a peak and often a cap of snow.
Did you guess it?
I am a hot spring that sometimes sends a tall spray into the air. What am I?
Water heats underground before rushing upward.
I erupt with hot water rather than melted rock.
A geyser
Why it works: A geyser erupts when heated underground water and steam push upward through an opening.
Did you guess it?
I appear at sunrise as drops on grass, though no rain fell overnight. What am I?
Look on cool leaves early in the morning.
Water vapor from the air has turned into liquid on the cool surface.
Dew
Why it works: Dew forms when water vapor condenses on a surface cool enough for liquid droplets to collect.
Did you guess it?
Most of me hides under the water, and I float in cold seas. Ships steer away from me. What am I?
I am made of frozen water.
Only my tip shows above the waves.
An iceberg
Why it works: An iceberg is a huge floating block of ice, with most of it hidden below the surface.
Did you guess it?
I am born in the dark inside a shell. I am smooth and round, and I shine without any polishing. What am I?
I come from the sea.
An oyster makes me.
A pearl
Why it works: A pearl forms inside a shell and is smooth, round and shiny.
Did you guess it?
Playground favorites, bridges and roads, plus lighthouse and compass puzzles for older children.
When it rains I open up over your head. I have a handle, and I keep you dry. What am I?
I am used on wet days.
I am like a little roof you can carry.
An umbrella
Why it works: An umbrella works like a portable roof that keeps rain off you.
Did you guess it?
I hang from a tree or a frame. You sit on me and go back and forth, and the air rushes past your face. What am I?
I live at the playground.
Pump your legs to go higher.
A swing
Why it works: A swing hangs from a frame and carries you back and forth through the air.
Did you guess it?
I fly high in the sky with no wings and no engine. The wind lifts me, and a long string in your hand keeps me from flying away. What am I?
Children fly me on a breezy day.
I may have a long tail and bright colors.
A kite
Why it works: A kite is lifted by the wind and held in place by its string.
Did you guess it?
Climb my ladder, sit at the top, and whoosh! Down you go on my smooth back. What am I?
I live at the playground.
You go down me, but I never move.
A slide
Why it works: A slide is a smooth slope at the playground that you climb up to and zoom down.
Did you guess it?
I am round and full of air. I wrap around a wheel, and my ridged rubber grips the road. What am I?
Bicycles and cars roll on me.
A pump can fill me through a small valve.
A tire
Why it works: An inflatable tire surrounds a wheel and uses tread to grip the road.
Did you guess it?
I have two wheels and no engine. You make me go by pushing the pedals with your feet. What am I?
You wear a helmet when you ride me.
I have handlebars and a seat.
A bicycle
Why it works: A bicycle has two wheels and pedals that you push to move yourself.
Did you guess it?
I have a mouth but I never eat. I swallow letters, and a postal worker comes to empty me. What am I?
I stand on a street corner or outside a post office.
You post cards and notes in me.
A mailbox
Why it works: A mailbox has a slot like a mouth, and it holds letters until someone collects them.
Did you guess it?
I stretch over water but I am not a boat. People and cars cross on my back. What am I?
I help you get across a river without getting wet.
Some of me are very long and made of steel.
A bridge
Why it works: A bridge carries people and cars over water or a valley.
Did you guess it?
I am a little house made of cloth. You take me camping, and I fold up small when the trip is over. What am I?
You sleep in me under the stars.
I have poles to hold me up and a door that zips.
A tent
Why it works: A tent is a portable cloth shelter that folds away small after camping.
Did you guess it?
I stand tall by the sea with a bright light on top. I never sail, but I guide ships safely home at night. What am I?
Ships look for my beam in the dark.
I warn sailors about rocks near the shore.
A lighthouse
Why it works: A lighthouse is a tower by the sea whose beam guides ships away from danger.
Did you guess it?
I make faraway birds look near, using two tubes that you look through together. What am I?
Birdwatchers carry me.
Each eye looks through its own set of lenses.
Binoculars
Why it works: Binoculars use two optical tubes to magnify distant objects for both eyes.
Did you guess it?
I stretch from town to town, yet I have never taken a step. I have a painted line down my middle, and cars drive on me. What am I?
I am made of tar and stones.
Cars, buses and bicycles travel along me.
A road
Why it works: A road links places without moving, and its painted lines guide drivers.
Did you guess it?
I am a deep, round hole in the ground with water at the bottom. You lower a bucket on a rope to bring the water up. What am I?
People used me before taps and pipes.
Look for me in an old village or a fairy tale.
A well
Why it works: A well is a deep hole dug to reach underground water that you raise by bucket.
Did you guess it?
I have a needle, but I never sew. I always point the same way, and hikers trust me when they are lost. What am I?
My needle points toward the north.
I am a tool for finding directions.
A compass
Why it works: A compass needle is a small magnet that lines up with Earth's magnetic field, so it points north.
Did you guess it?
No riddles match both filters. Try another age or difficulty.
Read the riddle slowly in the first person, as if you are the object, so children can picture who is speaking.
Look for the pair of clues that do not seem to go together, like "teeth but no bite". That odd pairing is usually the trick.
Give hint 1 after one wrong guess and hint 2 after two, so a child always gets a fair chance to reach the answer.
Ask a child to write their own what am I riddle about a toy or an animal. Three clues is enough.
Print the cards without the answers for a classroom game, then use the answer key to check guesses.
The 4 to 6 riddles use short clues about pillows, socks, kites and the moon. The 7 to 9 riddles add a small twist, and the 10 to 12 riddles, such as the compass, the geyser and the lighthouse, use cleverer clues. Each riddle is labeled so you can pick.
Read the riddle once, let children guess, then give hint 1 and hint 2 if they are stuck. Taking turns as the reader works well. Keep score only if your group likes it, since the guessing is the fun part.
Ask which clue their answer misses, then re-read the clues together. If their answer fits every clue, count it: bike for bicycle or jug for pitcher is still right, and good guessing matters more than matching the card.
Yes. The print option makes cards with only the riddles and hints, plus a separate answer key. That is handy for a class, a party or a long car trip, because children cannot peek at the answers.