205 Easy Riddles For Kids To Think Out Of Box

Wondering how to keep your children engaged for hours without a TV or smartphone? Well, the answer is simple: Give them riddles! Riddles for kids is the best way to keep kids busy without receiving any complaints that they are bored, injured, or tired. Apart from entertaining children, riddles sharpen their problem-solving abilities and cognitive skills. So, choose a variety of riddles and let your children use their time wisely. Delve into this post for some interesting riddles that will help your children have loads of fun.

In This Article

205 Interesting Riddles For Children With Answers

Funny Riddles For Kids

These riddles and quizzes tickle the funny bone of your children.

1. Three men went for a swim in a pond, but why did only two get their hair wet?
A. The third man was bald

2. How did the rabbit travel?
A. In a Hare plane

3. When does a car become not-a-car?
A. When the car turns into a parking lot

4. What did the chewing gum tell to the shoe?
A. I will always stick with you

5. The longest word in the dictionary is….?
A. Smiles, because there is a mile between the two S

6. What lies at the center of gravity?
A. The letter V

7. Which room does not have a door and windows?
A. The mushroom

8. Why did the woman carry her helmet to the restaurant?
A. Because she was having a crash diet

9. What type of milk did the invisible man drink?
A. He drank evaporated milk

10. Why was the hairband arrested?
A. It was holding up the hair

11. Why does a teddy bear never feel hungry?
A. Because it is always stuffed

12. The word which is spelled incorrectly in the dictionary?
A. Incorrectly

13. How did the soldier go eight days without sleep?
A. By sleeping at night

14. What has to be broken before you use it?
A. Eggs

15. What is full of holes but still can hold water?
A. Sponge

16. If you throw a white stone in the Red Sea what would the stone become?
A. Wet

Image: Shutterstock

17. Why did the deer eat raw grass?
A. Because it never learned how to cook it

18. Which part of the day do you break each day?
A. Breakfast

19. What always stays in the middle of bathrooms?
A. The letter R

20. What type of music do rabbits like?
A. Hip Hop!

21. Why is six scared of seven?
A. Because seven eight (ate) nine!

22. What has a head, but can’t think but can drive?
A. A hammer

Tricky Riddles For Kids

These riddles make your kids think hard for they are a bit challenging.

23. What pair has eight legs and stays together but cannot walk together?
A. Table and Chair

24. What types of stones do you never find in the ocean?
A. Dry stones

25. I can let you see strangers through the wall but if you are careless I can allow a stranger into your house. What am I?
A. A window

26. How is an island similar to T?
A. Both lie in the middle of water

27. I have a lot of keys but not a single door. There is space but no rooms. I can allow you to enter but you can never leave? What am I?
A. Keyboard

28. I always work with a string in my eye. What am I?
A. A needle

29. I have wings and fly but I am neither a bird, moth nor fly? What am I?
A. An airplane

30. I am a country, a bird, and sometimes also called cold? What am I?
A. Turkey

31. What is never present and always late?
A. Later

32. What do dogs, cats, birds, turtles, and fish all have in common?
A. The letter S

Image: Shutterstock

33. What has feet on the inside but never on the outside?
A. Shoes

34. If you have it, you don’t share it. If you share it, you don’t have it? What is it?
A. A secret

35. What is something you can catch but cannot throw?
A. A cold

36. How many months in a year have 28 days?
A. All the 12 months

37. Name three consecutive days that do not have a name of the week.
A. Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

38. I start with P, end with E, and have thousands of letters in me. Who am I?
A. Post Office

39. Why can a man living in New York not be buried in New Jersey?
A. Because he is still living!

40. What starts with T, ends with T, and has T in it?
A. A teapot

41. It comes out at night but is lost by the day, reappears at night only to be lost the next day. What is it?
A. A star

42. A man rode into a hotel on Friday. He stayed for three days and rode out on Friday again. How is it possible?
A. He rode on his horse named Friday

43. What belongs to you but is used by others?
A. Your name

44. What goes up but never comes down?
A. Your age

45. It is full of keys but cannot open any door. What is it?
A. A piano

46. Which is the heavier one, a pound of bricks or a pound of cotton?
A. They weigh the same. A pound is a pound!

47. Where does Friday come before Thursday?
A. In the dictionary

48. What type of coat can be put on when it is wet?
A. A coat of paint

49. What runs but cannot walk, makes noises but never talks, has a bed but won’t sleep, has a mouth but doesn’t eat?
A. A river

50. Mary’s dad has five daughters – Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?
A. Mary!

51. What is so delicate that even calling its name can break it?
A. Silence

52. You are running a race. If you pass the second person in the race, what place are you in?
A. The second place

53. You keep it close, save it, avoid sharing it but are always happy taking it. What is it?
A. Money

Difficult Riddles For Kids

Have the above mind-benders been a cake-walk for your children? Then read further to ask some tough questions.

54. If you call me right, you will be wrong. If you call me wrong, you will be right. What am I?
A. The word Wrong

Image: Shutterstock

55. I look like a city wall from afar. Up close I look like a row of houses. I do not stay in one place but travel thousands of miles. What am I?
A. A train

56. I go up and I go down. I go towards the sky and towards the ground. I am in the present tense and past tense too. What am I?
A. A see-saw

57. It keeps running but has no legs. It makes a mighty sound but has no voice. It always falls down but can never move up. What is it?
A. Waterfall

58. I grow but I am not alive. I need air but water kills me. I start at one place and reach many places but I have no legs. What am I?
A. Fire

59. I give directions to others but do not know anything myself. I can tell you your way around and without me, you would probably be lost. What am I?
A. A road sign

60. The more you work, the more I eat. If you keep me full, I keep you neat. What am I?
A. A pencil sharpener

61. Every night you tell me what to do, every morning I do what I was told, but still, I am silenced by you. What am I?
A. An alarm clock

62. A truck driver went in the opposite direction of the traffic on a one-way street. The police officer saw the driver but did not stop him. Why?
A. The truck driver was walking!

63. I always point in one direction yet I navigate people around the world. What am I?
A. Compass

64. I drape the hills white and if you get close I will bite. What am I?
A. Frost

65. I am filled with garb, and you can take as many as you want for free. Return what you do not want and I keep it safe for you for free. What am I?
A. A closet

66. What runs around the house but has no legs?
A. A fence

67. I build bridges of gold and silver. Each bridge is precious and always yours to keep. Who am I?
A. A dentist! (Dentists make dental bridges often made of gold and silver)

68. What has one eye but cannot see at all?
A. A needle

69. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What is it?
A. Steps

70. The more I work, the thinner I grow. The more you use me, the more I disappear. What am I?
A. A bar of soap

71. I can’t go left, I can’t go right. But I can take you high up. What am I?
A. An elevator

72. A man enters a cabin in New Delhi but exits it in Mumbai. How is it possible?
A. The man is a pilot!

73. I stalk you every day but not at night. You can see me but can never catch me. You can see my arms and legs but never my eyes. Who am I?
A. Your shadow!

74. A farmer and his wife have two chickens and two cows at their farm. How many feet are there in total?
A. Only four – two each of the farmer and his wife. Chicken have claws and cows have hooves.

75. You throw away the outside, eat the inside, then throw away the inside. What is it?
A. Corn. You remove the husk, eat the corn kernels, and then throw away the stalk

76. I am one of the lightest things on earth, but even the strongest person cannot hold me for more than five minutes. What am I?
A. Breath

77. There exist two sisters. The first gives birth to the second sister and the second gives birth to the first. Who are they?
A. Day and night

Image: IStock

78. Poke your fingers in my eyes and I will open my mouth wide. What am I?
A. Scissors

79. Which English word sounds the same even when you remove four out of five letters from it?
A. Queue

80. I stay alive without air. I am never thirsty but always drinking water. What am I?
A. Fish

81. I can be long or I can be short. I can be painted or I can be bare. I can be round or I can be square. I can be near your feet and on your hands. What am I?
A. Fingernails

82. I look like a mirror and show you the world. Depending on how you use me, I can be of use or waste of time to you. What am I?
A. A television

83. I have a name but it’s not mine. No one cares about me in their prime. But people cry at my sight and may even lie by my side at day or night. Who am I?
A. A tombstone

84. I can be used to build castles but will flow through your fingers. I can travel for miles yet cover and bury vast lands. What am I?
A. Sand

85. I am a small room with a door yet no one can live inside me. It can be hot or rainy outside, but I always keep myself cold from inside. What am I?
A. A refrigerator

86. I am the beginning of the end and the end of time and space. I am essential to the creation and you will find me at the end of every place. What am I?
A. The letter E

87. I can bring a smile to your face, a tear in your eye, I can make you feel angry, or make you regret. But you can never see me nor touch me. What am I?
A. A memory

88. What can you always count on when things go wrong?
A. Your fingers!

89. I am always there in your sight, but no matter how much you chase me you can never catch me.
A. The horizon

90. 32 white horses stood on a red hill. First, they champ, then they stamp, but one of them fell away, so now they stand still. What are they?
A. Teeth

91. I have memories but no thoughts of my own. I show what I have inside and it can be changed. People look at what’s inside me and smile or may look at what’s inside me and cry. What am I?
A. A picture frame

92. We are an important part of your daily food plan, but you can never have us before breakfast. Who are we?
A. Lunch and Dinner

93. I point without fingers. I strike without arms. I run without feet. What am I?
A. A clock

94. Dressed in black and white, they can fight for hours. Despite their valor, they cannot think and you control them all. What are they?
A. Chess

95. I am big, white, heavy, and live on the top of the world. Identify me?
A. Polar bear (polar bears live in the Arctic on the North Pole)

96. I have no life but I can die. What am I?
A. A battery

97. I can share a lot of knowledge but I have no voice. I can open and close, but I am not a door. What am I?
A. A book

98. What is it that when you take the whole of it, some remains?
A. Wholesome

99. I have three letters. I read the same forward and backward. You use me all the time but the irony is that you do not see me. What am I?
A. Eye

100. I do not exist now but eventually, come to existence. People know that I exist, but when I arrive I change my name. I motivate people and give them hope. What am I?
A. Tomorrow

101. I can reach out the sky, talk with birds and wind, yet always remain grounded. What am I?
A. A tree

102. There is always something new to see here but the place is always the same. While you enjoy what you see, the place gets your money’s share. What is it?
A. A movie theater

103. I sit on a bridge and people see the world through me. I can add color to the world and perhaps make you look good. What am I?
A. Sunglasses. It sits on the bridge of your nose

104. I could be running but I do not have legs. I am always ahead of you, and you can never overtake me. What am I?
A. Nose

105. I only live when there is light, but can die if light shines on me. What am I?
A. Shadow

106. I am as light as air, but you cannot hold and lift me. What am I?
A. A bubble

107. Which automobile is spelled the same forward and backward?
A. Racecar

108. What can you put in a box to make the box lighter?
A. Holes

109. If everything I said is a lie, am I currently speaking the truth or a lie?
A. A lie!

110. I am a building that has the most stories, but you can never hear one for I love silence. What am I?
A. Library

111. I have a tail and sail through the sky but have no wings to flap. I can move anywhere in the sky but can never see where I am going because I have no eyes. What am I?
A. A kite

112. I stay at one place but help people move across a thousand miles. What am I?
A. A railway track

Math Riddles For Kids

A little bit of math in each riddle challenges and polishes your child’s math skills.

113. If there are four apples and you take away three from them, then how many do you have?
A. You took away three apples, so you have three

Math riddle for kids to think out of the box
share button

Image: Shutterstock

114. When you add a number to me, the number stays the answer. But when you multiply a number to me, I am always the answer. What number am I?
A. Zero

115. Two fathers and two sons went plucking apples. They plucked one apple each but only got three apples. Why?
A. The group consists of a grandfather, his son, and the grandson. Therefore, there are only three people.

116. I am a three-digit number. The second digit is four times as big as the third digit (ones place) and eight times as big as the first digit (hundreds place). What is the number?
A. 182

117. John has to paint numbers on 100 apartments. How many times will he paint the number 8?
A. 20 times (8, 18, 28, 38, 48, 58, 68, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, and 98)

118. I have added 5 to 9 and got the answer as 2, which is correct. How can that be?
A. Add 5 hours to 9am and get 2pm

119. I am a single digit number. When you write to me, I have no start and no end. I am an even number. I resemble a pair of glasses stored on their side. Who am I?
A.8

120. How can you add eight 8s so that the answer is 1,000?
A. 888+88+8+8+8 = 1000

121. I am an odd number. But when you remove a letter from my name I become even. What am I?
A. Seven. Remove the letter S from Seven and you get the word Even.

122. We are three positive numbers. Add us or multiple us. You will get the same answer. Who are we?
A. 1, 2, and 3

123. How many times can I subtract 5 from 25?
A. Only once. (Then it becomes 20)

124. It is a three-digit number. The second digit is 3 more than the third digit. The first digit is 3 less than the second digit. What is the number?
A. 141

125. If you multiply all the numbers of a telephone’s number pad, what answer do you get?
A. 0, because the number pad contains 0

126. Multiply a number with me or divide a number by me, the number will always be the answer. What am I?
A. The number 1

127. A man is 20 years old but had five birthdays. How is it possible?
A. The man was born in a leap year.

Mystery Riddles For Kids

There is an enigma in these riddles that are filled with mysteries.

128. Two women came to a restaurant. One of them ordered hot tea while another ordered iced tea. The woman who chose hot tea had three cups while the woman who ordered iced tea had only one glass. After an hour after their meal, the woman who had iced tea was dead. How?
A. The poison was in the ice.

129. A woman shot her husband. She then held him underwater in darkness. Later that night they both enjoy dinner. How is it possible?
A. The woman took a picture of her husband with a film camera. She developed the film in a dark room and then at night, the couple had dinner together.

130. A man was found dead with a cassette tape in one hand and a gun in the other. The police pressed the play button and there was a voice recording of the man stating that he did not want to live anymore and thus was shooting himself. The police immediately realized that it was a murder and not a suicide? How did the police know it?
A. The man was already dead by the time the recording was over. So how was the tape rewound to the start?

131. A king condemns a murderer to death. He is given a choice of three rooms for execution. The first room is full of scorching fire, the second one has assassins with arrows, and the third room has hungry lions, who have not eaten for years. Which one should he choose to save his life?
A. The lions in the third room would have been dead since they did not get food for years.

132. A woman was found dead on a Sunday evening. The police question all the members in the house. The husband says that he was sleeping. The butler says that he was cleaning the kitchen. The maid was busy collecting the mail from the postman. The gardener was watering the plants. The cook was chopping vegetables to prepare a meal. Who is lying?
A. The maid. Postmen do not deliver mail on Sundays.

133. A man is found dead at his home on a Thursday. When the police arrive, they realize that the man has been dead for a few days now. The police notice all the mails the man received over the past few days, bottles of milk, Monday’s newspapers, and some promotional flyers. The police get their suspect right away. Who is that person?
A. The newspaper boy. He knew there was no one to read the newspaper at that home so he did not deliver the newspaper on Tuesday and Wednesday.

134. Two pilots are in the desert. Both have a pack that saves lives. One man is dead and his pack is closed. The other man who is alive has his pack open. What is the pack?
A. The pack is a parachute. They may have jumped from an airplane.

Silly Riddles For Kids

A bit wacky, a bit silly, but always funny!

135. Which bank never has money?
A. The riverbank

136. What cup cannot hold water?
A. A cupcake

137. What is an astronaut’s favorite meal?
A. A launch

138. What has orange, red, green, blue, brown, purple, black, and white in it?
A. A box of crayons!

139. When is homework not homework?
A. When you do it in class!

140. What demands an answer but asks no question. You greet it every time you meet it, but it is not a person. What is it?
A. A telephone

Image: Shutterstock

141. Drop me from the tallest of buildings and I will survive. Drop me from the smallest of boats and I will be destroyed. What am I?
A. A piece of paper

142. How do you make the number one go away without subtraction or division?
A. Just add the letter G to “One” to make it “Gone”

143. Mary got into the shower room, but her hair did not get wet. How?
A. She didn’t turn the water on.

144. How many apples grow on a tree?
A. All! All apples grow on a tree.

145. What is made of wood, but cannot be sawed?
A. Sawdust!

146. Why did the bee put honey under its pillow?
A. It wanted to have sweet dreams

147. Which question can you never answer no matter how hard you try?
A. “Are you dead?”

148. C and Y are very bitter. But when they are together they always are sweet. How is it possible?
A. Because C and Y is Candy (CandY)!

149. Why can’t dinosaurs clap?
A. Because they are extinct!

150. You are my brother but I am not your brother. Who am I then?
A. I am your sister!

151. During which month do people sleep the least?
A. February. It has 28 days.

152. If Mr. Pink lives in a pink house, Mr. Blue lives in a blue house, then who lives in the white house?
A. The President of the USA

153. The more it dries, the wetter it gets. What is it?
A. A towel

154. You can keep it only after you give it to someone. What is it?
A. A word

155. What would be the relation of your father’s sister’s sister-in-law with you?
A. Mother

156. If I have three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in another hand, then what do I have?
A. Very large hands!

157. The more you take away, the larger it becomes. What is it?
A. A hole

158. There is an apple tree. A storm comes, and there are no apples on the tree. There are no apples on the ground either. So what happened to the apples?
A. The apple tree had not sprouted any apples yet

159. It comes once in a year, twice in a week, and never in a day. What is it?
A. The letter E

160. You can hear it but never see or touch it. What is it?
A. Your voice

161. You can break it without even holding or crushing it. What is it?
A. A promise

162. I have a neck and mouth but I do not have a head. What am I?
A. A bottle

163. I have four eyes but cannot see. What am I?
A. Mississippi. It has four “I” in it.

164. I have hands that move but I can never clap. What am I?
A. Clock

165. What travels anywhere in the world yet sticks to one place?
A. A stamp

166. You can serve it but never eat it. What is it?
A. A tennis ball

167. The dress that you can never wear.
A. Address

168. It is a bet that can never be won.
A. The alphabet

169. I fly around the entire day yet I never go to a new place. What am I?
A. A flag

170. It has a bark but not a bite. What is it?
A. A tree

171. It is easy to get into but very hard to get out of.
A. A trouble

172. A pirate decided to join the military. Which branch of the military did he join?
A. Navy, since pirates love the sea.

173. What would you call a bird in winter?
A. Brrrd!

174. What do you call a cow that always has mood swings?
A. Moody

175. Why do people say eating carrots is good for eyesight?
A. Well, have you ever seen a rabbit wear glasses?

176. How will a dog stop a YouTube video?
A. He will press the Paws (pause) button!

177. What do you call an unwell crocodile?
A. A-ill-gator

178. What is the difference between a bus driver and a cold?
A. One nose (knows) the stop, the other stops the nose

179. What is the difference between a hill and a pill?
A. A hill is hard to get up, a pill makes us get up

180. When is a doctor most frustrated?
A. When he is out of patients (patience).

181. What runs the fastest in a cold?
A. The nose

Image: Shutterstock

182. How did the pair of jeans feel when ironed?
A. It felt de-pressed!

183. The alphabet went from A to Z. What went from Z to A?
A. Zebra

Science Riddles For Kids

It is an excellent way to acquaint your child with basic science concepts.

184. What did the scientist say when he discovered two molecules of helium?
A. HeHe!

185. What is both solid and liquid, both water and land?
A. A wetland

186. It is a group of three. All three are related. But the first one always sits and never gets up; the second is always heated up; the third once gone, never returns. Who is the trio?
A. Stove, Fire, and Smoke

187. Two girls are born on the same day at the same time to the same mother, yet the two are not twins. How is it possible?
A. They are triplets. They have a third sister

188. Two men go into a restaurant. The first man says to the waiter, “I want H2O”. The other man smiles and tells the waiter, “I will have H2O, too”. The waiter brings the order. Both gulp down what they ordered. While the first man lives, the second one dies. Why?
A. The first man had water (H2O). But the second man said, “H2O too”. Therefore, the waiter brought H2O2, hydrogen peroxide, which is toxic when consumed.

189. What did the kid reply when the doctor asked if he is getting enough iron?
A. The kid replied that he chews nails every day!

190. Which element hates to be a follower?
A. Lead

191. It is the only organ that can name itself?
A. The brain

192. This scientific concept is the loneliest of all.
A. Singularity

193. A man was born on 21 December yet his birthday always falls in summer. How can it be?
A. The man was born in the southern hemisphere. The seasons in the two hemispheres are opposite to one another.

194. I come as a gas and share a relationship with neon. I am also the home of a very popular super person. What am I?
A. Krypton (It is also the name of the planet from where Superman comes)

195. What two elements heal when combined?
A. Helium and Aluminium (He+Al)

196. What four elements, when their first letters combined, become something that terrifies criminals?
A. Carbon, Oxygen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur (C+O+P+S)

197. What unit of time has the least weight?
A. A light year!

198. What number do Nickel and Neon make together?
A. Nine (Ni+Ne)

199. I can be still yet make a rush. I can be hot, I can be cold, I can be hard as a rock, yet slip through the smallest of pores. What am I?
A. Water

200. How can you throw a ball 10 meters, and make it come back without hitting it?
A. Throw the ball upwards!

201. It can never be seen nor can it be touched, but it packs enough heat to cook your lunch. What is it?
A. Microwave

202. What did the fox scientist name his lab?
A. Den-sity

203. When two nuclei become one, I become very excited and release a lot of energy. What am I?
A. Nuclear fusion

204. I can be good, I can be bad. I am outside your body and inside too. There are medicines to kill me, there are medicines that add more of me to you. What am I?
A. Bacteria

205. When I am solid I can float on liquid. I can also warm you when I convert from liquid to gas. What am I?
A. Water

You have enough riddles to hold the interest of your children and keep them busy too, isn’t it? Do you have any more riddles to add?

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why are riddles for kids important?

Riddles can be a fun and engaging tool for children to learn and develop their cognitive abilities. They may also improve a child’s memory and vocabulary by exposing them to new words and ideas. In addition, riddles may help build confidence and improve critical thinking skills, making it easier for children to solve problems and make decisions in their daily lives. Riddles can make a great bonding activity for children. Nora Gaydos, a mother and a teacher, shares how she and her son enjoyed a fun time together with riddles. She writes, “Recently, my second-grade son and I sat together with a book of riddles. We took turns reading the riddles to each other and we were laughing the entire time. It’s a great way to inject humor into your reading, and since jokes and riddles are so short, it’s a low-pressure, manageable task for young readers (i).”

2. How do riddles enhance oral skills?

Riddles and word games can enhance oral skills by promoting the use of language and storytelling. When children are presented with a riddle, they must listen carefully to understand the question and then use their verbal skills to come up with an answer. This helps children to develop their oral language skills, including pronunciation, vocabulary, and sentence structure.

3. How do riddles foster a child’s critical thinking?

Riddles or brain teasers help foster children’s critical thinking by challenging them to think creatively and logically. Children use their problem-solving skills to figure out the answer to a riddle, encouraging them to think outside the box. This helps to improve their critical thinking skills as they use their imagination and reasoning abilities. Additionally, solving a riddle requires children to analyze information, make connections, and evaluate possibilities, which are key components of critical thinking.

Riddles or guessing games for kids with answers are ideal for putting the young minds to work and driving them to think out of the box. To keep the fun on, you can even play teasers, charades, and logic puzzles. These small yet engaging puzzles also enhance problem-solving and thinking skills in children. Children would be intrigued to solve these or share them with their friends while having fun. You may introduce simple ones and gradually pick some challenging and educational riddles to keep your children interested and occupied. You may also encourage the child to create riddles and share them with friends and siblings.

Key Pointers

  • Riddles promote critical thinking in children and enhance their wordplay.
  • Tricky riddles may hone children’s reasoning skills and boost their confidence.
  • Solving match riddles sharpens numeracy skills and compels them to think logically.
  • Children may be drawn to mystery riddles and feel a sense of achievement when they solve them.
  • Science riddles help introduce scientific concepts to children in a fun way.

Infographic: Tricky Riddles For Children

Engaging children in their free time, away from electronic gadgets, can be challenging but possible. Asking riddles is a fun interactive activity to keep the children entertained, whether just their free time or a gathering or a party. Explore our list of some fun riddles with answers outlined in the infographic below.

funny and tricky riddles to ask children (infographic)

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Get the high-quality PDF version of this infographic.

Download Infographic in PDF version

Put your genius to the test with these ten cunning riddles! Can you conquer them all? Unveil your brilliance in this engaging quiz video!

Personal Experience: Source

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