Riddles for Kids: 100 With Answers, Easy to Tricky

Which riddles should you try first?

Good riddles for kids start with familiar animals and objects, then move into wordplay and little logic traps. These 100 riddles come in four suggested levels: ages 4 to 5, 6 to 7, age 8, and family stumpers. Read them aloud, take a guess, then open the answers beneath each level.

Start anywhere; the ages are suggestions, not milestones. Someone can read the clues aloud, so you don't need any equipment. Give a hint when asked and let anyone pass. For another day, browse our screen-free activities for children.

Which easy riddles suit ages 4 to 5?

Start with these familiar animals and objects. Offer a sound or action as a hint, and explain any unfamiliar answer.

1. Who has whiskers, purrs and says meow?

2. Who carries a shell wherever they crawl?

3. Whose trunk can pick things up but isn't a suitcase?

4. Who wears a woolly coat and says baa?

5. Who wears black and white stripes without getting dressed?

6. Who hops about with a baby in a pouch?

7. Who has a mane and a very loud roar?

8. Who has feathers, swims and says quack?

9. Who has a spotty coat and a very long neck?

10. Which bear wears black patches around its eyes?

11. Who curls into a ball covered in spines?

12. Who buzzes between flowers and makes honey?

13. Which fruit wears a yellow peel and grows in bunches?

14. Which fruit has the same name as a colour?

15. What has layers you peel, sometimes making you cry?

16. What looks like little trees on your dinner plate?

17. What has pages and a spine, but no bones?

18. What gets shorter each time you sharpen it?

19. What has teeth for tidying hair rather than chewing?

20. What soft thing takes your head's weight at bedtime?

21. What has legs and a back, but can't walk?

22. What sweeps with bristles at the end of a handle?

23. What wears a cap and has a neck, without a head?

24. What goes up over you when rain comes down?

25. What can you kick and catch without hurting it?

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<summary>Show answers 1 to 25</summary>

1. A cat.
2. A snail.
3. An elephant.
4. A sheep.
5. A zebra.
6. A kangaroo.
7. A lion.
8. A duck.
9. A giraffe.
10. A panda.
11. A hedgehog.
12. A honeybee.
13. A banana.
14. An orange. Peach or plum also fits.
15. An onion.
16. Broccoli.
17. A book.
18. A pencil.
19. A comb.
20. A pillow.
21. A chair.
22. A broom.
23. A bottle.
24. An umbrella.
25. A ball.

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Ready for a twist at ages 6 to 7?

These clues give familiar objects surprising features. If your child gets stuck, name a category, such as things found indoors.

26. What has moving hands that never wave hello?

27. What has musical keys that won't open doors?

28. What has an eye that you put thread through?

29. What soaks up water despite being full of holes?

30. What gets damp while making your body dry?

31. What has fingers like yours, but no bones?

32. What has a head and tail, without a body?

33. What has a tongue tucked under its laces?

34. What can ring without having a finger?

35. What flows along a bed instead of sleeping in it?

36. Which 'room' might be sliced onto a pizza?

37. What needs cracking before you can scramble it?

38. What has branches without leaves and looks after money?

39. What flies with a string instead of feathers?

40. What repeats your words without having a mouth?

41. What copies your shape on a sunny pavement?

42. What shows your face but hasn't got its own?

43. What starts tall and gets shorter as it burns?

44. What grows as you dig more earth away?

45. What has teeth that can fasten your coat?

46. What has a head you hit with a hammer?

47. What has a thumb but keeps your fingers together?

48. What has bark but never woofs at anyone?

49. What has leafy layers and a heart that doesn't beat?

50. What has an ear that grows on a stalk?

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<summary>Show answers 26 to 50</summary>

1. A clock.
2. A piano.
3. A needle.
4. A sponge.
5. A towel.
6. A glove.
7. A coin.
8. A shoe.
9. A telephone.
10. A river.
11. A mushroom.
12. An egg.
13. A bank.
14. A kite.
15. An echo.
16. Your shadow.
17. A mirror.
18. A candle.
19. A hole.
20. A zip.
21. A nail.
22. A mitten.
23. A tree.
24. A lettuce.
25. Sweetcorn.

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Which wordplay riddles can you try at age 8?

Some clues depend on spelling or words with different meanings. Show the written word when needed, and accept other answers that fit.

51. What runs around a house without going anywhere?

52. What goes from floor to floor without moving?

53. What's yours, but other people say it more?

54. What gets higher every birthday and never gets lower?

55. What can you break without ever touching it?

56. What can you serve across a net rather than on plates?

57. What can you open without lifting a finger?

58. What travels worldwide while stuck to an envelope?

59. Where does Thursday appear before Tuesday in a list?

60. Which word becomes shorter when you add 'er'?

61. What has a head and foot but isn't alive?

62. Which word is always correctly spelt W-R-O-N-G?

63. Which letter sits right in the middle of 'water'?

64. What comes at the very end of 'everything'?

65. Which letter starts 'night' and finishes off 'noon'?

66. What starts and ends with E, holding a letter?

67. What starts and ends with T, with tea inside?

68. What gets whiter as you write on its black surface?

69. Which coat do you put on with a paintbrush?

70. Which table has numbers instead of any legs?

71. Which band can stretch but doesn't play music?

72. Which bow belongs on a present rather than a violin?

73. What can you draw without picking up a pencil?

74. Which kind of wave leaves you completely dry?

75. What can you give someone and still keep yourself?

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<summary>Show answers 51 to 75</summary>

1. A fence. A wall or hedge also fits.
2. A staircase.
3. Your name.
4. Your age.
5. A promise.
6. A tennis ball.
7. Your mouth.
8. A stamp.
9. In a dictionary.
10. Short becomes shorter.
11. A bed.
12. Wrong.
13. T.
14. G.
15. N.
16. An envelope.
17. A teapot.
18. A chalkboard.
19. A coat of paint.
20. A times table.
21. A rubber band.
22. A ribbon bow.
23. The curtains.
24. A wave of your hand.
25. A smile.

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Can the family crack these stumpers?

Everyone gets a turn before the answers open. Look carefully at the wording, and let grown-ups puzzle alongside the children.

76. How many months have a 28th day?

77. What's heavier: a kilo of feathers or a kilo of flour?

78. You take 2 apples from 3. How many do you have?

79. You overtake second place on the same lap. Where are you?

80. Of 10 sheep, all but 3 leave. How many remain?

81. Two fathers and two sons share 3 cakes, one each. How?

82. An electric train heads north. Where does its exhaust smoke go?

83. A cockerel lays an egg. Which way does it roll?

84. Which question can't you truthfully answer 'yes' to when awake?

85. A bungalow has no upstairs. What colour are its upstairs stairs?

86. Which odd number becomes 'even' when its first letter disappears?

87. What appears once in 'minute', twice in 'moment', never in 'hour'?

88. Which letter appears twice in 'green' and once in 'blue'?

89. 'What' has 4 letters, 'sometimes' 9 and 'never' 5. True?

90. When can adding 8 to 8 give you 4?

91. Which number stays unchanged when multiplied by any number?

92. A girl has 3 brothers, each with one sister. How many children?

93. Which word sounds unchanged after losing its last 4 letters?

94. What comes next: O, T, T, F, F, S, S?

95. A boat carries people, but not a single person. How?

96. What can be cracked, made and told?

97. What can your right hand hold but your left hand can't?

98. What gets broken when you say its name aloud?

99. What can you keep only by never sharing it?

100. What day is always a day away?

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<summary>Show answers 76 to 100</summary>

1. All 12.
2. Neither: both weigh a kilo.
3. 2.
4. Second.
5. 3.
6. A grandfather, his son and his grandson: 3 people.
7. Nowhere: it doesn't produce exhaust smoke.
8. It doesn't: cockerels don't lay eggs.
9. 'Are you asleep?'
10. There aren't any.
11. Seven: remove S.
12. The letter M.
13. E.
14. True: count the letters.
15. On a clock: 8 hours after 8 is 4.
16. 0.
17. 4: the brothers share the same sister.
18. Queue: Q sounds the same.
19. E: the initials of one to eight.
20. Everyone is married. 'Single' means unmarried.
21. A joke.
22. Your left elbow.
23. Silence.
24. A secret.
25. Tomorrow.

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How do you make up a riddle together?

Choose the answer first, then describe it without naming it. The National Literacy Trust's riddle activity suggests clues about appearance, use and comparisons. You can do this aloud, so it works at the dinner table or while waiting somewhere.

Try a spoon: say what it does, what it's made from and where it lives. Keep the easiest clue until last. Test it on someone else, then change any clue that doesn't quite fit. It doesn't have to rhyme.

How can you turn a few clues into a game?

Pick a small handful and stop while everyone still wants another. These are suggested rounds, so swap in favourites:

• Dinner table: choose an animal clue each, then let everyone invent a clue about something on the table.
• Car journey: a passenger reads 3 clues, with a hint available for each. Leave the driver out of the game: the Highway Code advises avoiding distractions. Our car journey activities offer more choices.
• Mixed ages: let the youngest choose an easy clue for the grown-ups, then solve a family stumper together. Anyone can ask for the answer.

For a movement game after the riddles, explore our mats: their 15 numbered poses are laser-engraved into the surface, ready for a change of activity.

What if guessing stops being fun?

Let your child reveal the answer, give you clues or choose a different game. There's no need to finish a level. If they dislike an audience, try chatting side by side instead of asking them to perform for the room.

Accept an unexpected answer when it matches the clue. A hedge can go around a house just as a fence can. You can also replace right-or-wrong answers with would you rather questions, where choosing and explaining is the whole game.

Frequently asked questions

What runs around the house but never moves?

A fence is the usual answer. 'Runs around' means it goes all the way round the house, rather than running on legs. A wall or hedge can fit too. If your child suggests either, accept it and ask which words helped them decide.

What are good riddles for a car journey?

Choose short spoken clues about familiar things, such as the animal riddles at the start of this list. Read a clue, offer a hint if wanted, then take turns asking. Save spelling puzzles for a stop if your child needs to see the letters.

Why are riddles good for children's language?

Riddles give you something to discuss: clues, unfamiliar words and why an answer fits. The NHS says conversation can help children learn words and conversational skills. The National Literacy Trust uses riddles to explore figurative language, including describing objects as though they're people. Explain the wordplay together.

What is the difference between a riddle and a joke?

A riddle asks you to work out an answer; a joke aims for a laugh. They overlap when the answer involves wordplay. The British Council describes riddles as questions with surprising answers. You don't need to label them while playing: enjoy the guess, then explain the twist.

Sources

• NHS: Learning conversations and telling stories, ages 3 to 5
• National Literacy Trust: Poetry and word games
• British Council: Riddles
• GOV.UK: The Highway Code, advice on distractions