Looking for fun riddles to challenge and entertain the whole family? You’re in the right place. Here’s a list of 101 clever riddles that will have the kids thinking and laughing in no time.
- Riddle: What has keys but can’t open locks? Answer: A piano. Explanation: A piano has keys, but they are musical keys, not keys for locks.
- Riddle: What has a head, a tail, but no body? Answer: A coin. Explanation: Coins have a head side and a tail side but no body.
- Riddle: What has to be broken before you can use it? Answer: An egg. Explanation: You need to break the shell of an egg to use what’s inside.
- Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old. What am I? Answer: A candle. Explanation: A candle starts tall but gets shorter as it burns.
- Riddle: What has hands but can’t clap? Answer: A clock. Explanation: A clock has hands that point to the time but can’t clap.
- Riddle: What is full of holes but still holds water? Answer: A sponge. Explanation: A sponge has many holes but can absorb and hold water.
- Riddle: What has one eye but can’t see? Answer: A needle. Explanation: A needle has an eye (the hole for the thread) but cannot see.
- Riddle: What gets wetter the more it dries? Answer: A towel. Explanation: A towel gets wet as it dries you off.
- Riddle: What goes up but never comes down? Answer: Your age. Explanation: Your age increases but never decreases.
- Riddle: What can you catch but not throw? Answer: A cold. Explanation: You can catch a cold, meaning get sick, but you can’t physically throw it.
- Riddle: What kind of room has no doors or windows? Answer: A mushroom. Explanation: The word “room” is part of “mushroom,” which is not an actual room.
- Riddle: I have branches, but no fruit, trunk, or leaves. What am I? Answer: A bank. Explanation: A bank has branches (locations) but not the botanical parts of a tree.
- Riddle: What goes up and down but doesn’t move? Answer: A staircase. Explanation: Stairs stay in place but you go up and down them.
- Riddle: What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs? Answer: A clock. Explanation: A clock’s face shows time, and its hands point to the hours and minutes.
- Riddle: What has a thumb and four fingers but isn’t alive? Answer: A glove. Explanation: A glove has places for a thumb and fingers but isn’t a living thing.
- Riddle: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. What am I? Answer: An echo. Explanation: An echo is a sound reflection that doesn’t have physical features.
- Riddle: What is always in front of you but can’t be seen? Answer: The future. Explanation: The future is ahead of us but cannot be seen.
- Riddle: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they? Answer: Footsteps. Explanation: Taking steps leaves footprints behind.
- Riddle: I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest man can’t hold me for much longer than a minute. What am I? Answer: Breath. Explanation: Breathing is light but hard to hold for long.
- Riddle: What gets bigger when more is taken away? Answer: A hole. Explanation: The more you dig, the larger the hole gets.
- Riddle: Where does today come before yesterday? Answer: In a dictionary. Explanation: Words are listed in alphabetical order in a dictionary.
- Riddle: What has many teeth but can’t bite? Answer: A comb. Explanation: A comb has teeth for styling hair but cannot bite.
- Riddle: What runs but never walks? Answer: A river. Explanation: A river flows (runs) but doesn’t walk.
- Riddle: What has a bed but never sleeps? Answer: A river. Explanation: A riverbed is the ground beneath a river.
- Riddle: What can travel around the world while staying in a corner? Answer: A stamp. Explanation: A stamp stays in the corner of an envelope while traveling.
- Riddle: What has four wheels and flies? Answer: A garbage truck. Explanation: A garbage truck has wheels and is often surrounded by flies.
- Riddle: What has a neck but no head? Answer: A bottle. Explanation: A bottle has a neck but no head.
- Riddle: What is easy to get into but hard to get out of? Answer: Trouble. Explanation: It’s easy to cause trouble but hard to fix.
- Riddle: What can be cracked, made, told, and played? Answer: A joke. Explanation: Jokes can be cracked, made up, told to others, and played as pranks.
- Riddle: What has keys, but can’t open a single lock? Answer: A computer keyboard. Explanation: A keyboard has keys (letters) but cannot unlock anything.
- Riddle: What has a neck but no head, arms, or legs? Answer: A shirt. Explanation: A shirt has a neck hole but no other body parts.
- Riddle: What can you hold in your right hand but not in your left? Answer: Your left hand. Explanation: You can’t hold your left hand with your left hand.
- Riddle: What has a heart that doesn’t beat? Answer: An artichoke. Explanation: An artichoke has a part called a heart, but it’s a plant.
- Riddle: What can fill a room but takes up no space? Answer: Light. Explanation: Light illuminates a room but doesn’t occupy physical space.
- Riddle: What goes through cities and fields but never moves? Answer: A road. Explanation: Roads are stationary but extend through various areas.
- Riddle: What can be seen once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years? Answer: The letter “M”. Explanation: The letter M appears once in “minute,” twice in “moment,” and not at all in “a thousand years.”
- Riddle: What is always coming but never arrives? Answer: Tomorrow. Explanation: Tomorrow is always a day away and never actually arrives.
- Riddle: What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? Answer: The letter “M”. Explanation: The letter M appears in the words as described.
- Riddle: I’m not alive, but I can grow. I don’t have lungs, but I need air. What am I? Answer: Fire. Explanation: Fire can grow larger and needs oxygen to burn but isn’t a living thing.
- Riddle: What is always in front of you but can’t be seen? Answer: The future. Explanation: The future is ahead but invisible.
- Riddle: What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it? Answer: Silence. Explanation: Speaking breaks the silence.
- Riddle: What has legs but doesn’t walk? Answer: A table. Explanation: Tables have legs to stand on but do not walk.
- Riddle: What comes down but never goes up? Answer: Rain. Explanation: Rain falls from the sky but doesn’t go back up.
- Riddle: What has a head, a tail, is brown, and has no legs? Answer: A penny. Explanation: A penny has a head and a tail side, is made of copper, and has no legs.
- Riddle: What has many needles but doesn’t sew? Answer: A Christmas tree. Explanation: Pine needles are on Christmas trees.
- Riddle: What can you hold without using your hands? Answer: Your breath. Explanation: You can hold your breath without physically holding it.
- Riddle: What has to be broken before you can use it? Answer: An egg. Explanation: You need to break an egg to access its contents.
- Riddle: What is as light as a feather, yet the strongest man can’t hold it for much more than a minute? Answer: Breath. Explanation: Breathing is light but hard to hold for long.
- Riddle: What has a ring but no finger? Answer: A telephone. Explanation: Phones ring but don’t have fingers.
- Riddle: What gets sharper the more you use it? Answer: Your brain. Explanation: Using your brain makes it sharper (smarter).
- Riddle: What can be touched but can’t be seen? Answer: Someone’s heart (feelings). Explanation: You can touch someone’s heart (emotionally) without seeing it.
- Riddle: What has a bark but no bite? Answer: A tree. Explanation: Trees have bark (outer layer) but don’t bite.
- Riddle: What has wheels and flies but is not an aircraft? Answer: A garbage truck. Explanation: Garbage trucks have wheels and often attract flies.
- Riddle: What can travel around the world while staying in a corner? Answer: A stamp. Explanation: Stamps are placed in the corner of envelopes and can travel globally.
- Riddle: What kind of tree can you carry in your hand? Answer: A palm. Explanation: A palm tree can fit in your hand (palm).
- Riddle: What has a foot but no legs? Answer: A ruler. Explanation: A ruler has a foot measurement but no legs.
- Riddle: What has words but never speaks? Answer: A book. Explanation: Books contain words but don’t talk.
- Riddle: What is black and white and read all over? Answer: A newspaper. Explanation: Newspapers are black and white and are read by people.
- Riddle: What has a bottom at the top? Answer: A leg. Explanation: The bottom of your leg (foot) is at the top of your shoe.
- Riddle: What runs but never walks, has a bed but never sleeps, and has a mouth but never talks? Answer: A river. Explanation: Rivers run (flow), have riverbeds, and mouths (where they enter a larger body of water).
- Riddle: What can be cracked, made, told, and played? Answer: A joke. Explanation: Jokes can be cracked, made up, told to others, and played as pranks.
- Riddle: What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs? Answer: A clock. Explanation: A clock has a face and hands but no other body parts.
- Riddle: What kind of band never plays music? Answer: A rubber band. Explanation: Rubber bands stretch and hold things together but don’t play music.
- Riddle: What has ears but can’t hear? Answer: Corn. Explanation: Corn has ears (corncobs) but cannot hear.
- Riddle: What has one eye but can’t see? Answer: A needle. Explanation: A needle has an eye (for threading) but can’t see.
- Riddle: What is always hungry and needs to be fed? Answer: A fire. Explanation: Fires need fuel to keep burning.
- Riddle: What can you keep after giving it to someone? Answer: Your word. Explanation: You can keep your promise (word) even after giving it.
- Riddle: What can you break without touching? Answer: A promise. Explanation: You can break a promise without physical contact.
- Riddle: What belongs to you but others use more? Answer: Your name. Explanation: Other people use your name to address you.
- Riddle: What can’t talk but will reply when spoken to? Answer: An echo. Explanation: An echo is a sound reflection that repeats what you say.
- Riddle: What has a thumb and four fingers but isn’t alive? Answer: A glove. Explanation: A glove has spaces for fingers but isn’t a living thing.
- Riddle: What has to be broken before you can use it? Answer: An egg. Explanation: Eggs need to be cracked open to be used.
- Riddle: What has a ring but no finger? Answer: A phone. Explanation: Phones ring but don’t have fingers.
- Riddle: What has a face but no eyes, mouth, or nose? Answer: A clock. Explanation: A clock’s face shows the time but lacks facial features.
- Riddle: What has hands but can’t clap? Answer: A clock. Explanation: Clocks have hands to indicate time but can’t clap.
- Riddle: What has a neck but no head? Answer: A bottle. Explanation: Bottles have necks but no heads.
- Riddle: What gets wetter as it dries? Answer: A towel. Explanation: Towels get wet while drying you off.
- Riddle: What has one eye but can’t see? Answer: A needle. Explanation: Needles have an eye for threading but can’t see.
- Riddle: What can be cracked, made, told, and played? Answer: A joke. Explanation: Jokes can be cracked, made up, told, and played.
- Riddle: What has keys but can’t open locks? Answer: A piano. Explanation: Pianos have musical keys, not keys for locks.
- Riddle: What runs but never walks? Answer: A river. Explanation: Rivers flow (run) but don’t walk.
- Riddle: What gets sharper the more you use it? Answer: Your brain. Explanation: Using your brain makes it smarter.
- Riddle: What comes down but never goes up? Answer: Rain. Explanation: Rain falls but doesn’t go back up.
- Riddle: What has many keys but can’t open a single lock? Answer: A computer keyboard. Explanation: Keyboards have keys for typing, not for locks.
- Riddle: What can travel around the world while staying in a corner? Answer: A stamp. Explanation: Stamps stay in the corner of an envelope while traveling.
- Riddle: What has legs but doesn’t walk? Answer: A table. Explanation: Tables have legs for support but don’t walk.
- Riddle: What can you catch but not throw? Answer: A cold. Explanation: You can catch an illness but can’t physically throw it.
- Riddle: What has a thumb and four fingers but isn’t alive? Answer: A glove. Explanation: Gloves have spaces for fingers but aren’t living things.
- Riddle: What gets bigger the more you take away from it? Answer: A hole. Explanation: The more you dig, the bigger the hole becomes.
- Riddle: What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? Answer: The letter “M”. Explanation: The letter M appears in “minute” and “moment” but not in “a thousand years.”
- Riddle: What can you keep after giving it to someone? Answer: Your word. Explanation: You can keep your promise even after giving it.
- Riddle: What is always coming but never arrives? Answer: Tomorrow. Explanation: Tomorrow is always a day away and never actually comes.
- Riddle: What can you break without touching? Answer: A promise. Explanation: Promises can be broken without physical contact.
- Riddle: What belongs to you but others use more? Answer: Your name. Explanation: Other people use your name to address you.
- Riddle: What has a bed but never sleeps? Answer: A river. Explanation: Rivers have beds (riverbeds) but don’t sleep.
- Riddle: What has a face but no eyes, mouth, or nose? Answer: A clock. Explanation: A clock’s face shows the time but lacks facial features.
- Riddle: What has a head, a tail, is brown, and has no legs? Answer: A penny. Explanation: Pennies have a head and a tail side, are brown, and have no legs.
- Riddle: What has many needles but doesn’t sew? Answer: A Christmas tree. Explanation: Christmas trees have pine needles but don’t sew.
- Riddle: What has a bark but no bite? Answer: A tree. Explanation: Trees have bark but don’t bite.
- Riddle: What can you hold in your right hand but not in your left? Answer: Your left hand. Explanation: You can hold your left hand with your right hand but not with your left hand.
- Riddle: What is full of holes but still holds water? Answer: A sponge. Explanation: Sponges have many holes but can absorb and hold water.