Riddles with Answers: Tricky Riddles and Brain Teasers
Updated November 2026 · 21 free printables
Forty tricky riddles with answers for kids and families: letter riddles, sneaky questions and classic brain teasers that make everyone groan when the answer is revealed. Each answer is hidden behind "Show answer," so you can test the whole table before peeking.
Want them on paper? The printables below are riddle cards with the answer upside down at the bottom, plus math riddles whose answer keys sit on page 2. Cut out a set for car rides, the dinner table or a classroom brain break.
40 Tricky Riddles with Answers
What do you call a bear with no ears?
Show answer
A "b" (take the letters e-a-r out of bear).
Which word is spelled wrong in every dictionary?
Show answer
The word "wrong."
What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
Show answer
The letter M.
Mr. Blue lives in the blue house and Mr. Pink lives in the pink house. Who lives in the White House?
Show answer
The president.
A rooster lays an egg on the very top of a barn roof. Which way does the egg roll?
Show answer
Neither way. Roosters don't lay eggs!
Which five-letter word gets shorter when you add two letters to it?
Show answer
Short (add -er and you get shorter).
What question can you never answer with "yes"?
Show answer
"Are you asleep?"
A girl fell off a 20-foot ladder but didn't get hurt. How?
Show answer
She fell off the bottom step.
It has a head like a cat, feet like a cat and a tail like a cat, but it isn't a cat. What is it?
Show answer
A kitten.
What can you put in a bucket to make it lighter?
Show answer
A hole.
What has three feet but cannot walk?
Show answer
A yardstick.
What comes once in a year, twice in a week, but never in a day?
Show answer
The letter E.
If two's company and three's a crowd, what are four and five?
Show answer
Nine.
What do you get when you put a car and a pet together?
Show answer
A carpet.
Peel off my skin and I won't cry, but you might. What am I?
Show answer
An onion.
I am as light as a feather, but even the strongest person can't hold me for five minutes. What am I?
Show answer
Your breath.
What kind of dog keeps the best time?
Show answer
A watchdog.
What is the end of everything?
Show answer
The letter G.
Johnny's mother had three children. The first was April and the second was May. What was the name of the third child?
Show answer
Johnny.
What is orange and sounds like a parrot?
Show answer
A carrot.
Which two keys can't open any door?
Show answer
A monkey and a donkey.
If you have me, you want to share me. Once you share me, you don't have me anymore. What am I?
Show answer
A secret.
I have keys but no locks, space but no room, and you can enter but not go inside. What am I?
Show answer
A computer keyboard.
A man walked in the rain with no umbrella and no hat, yet not one hair on his head got wet. How?
Show answer
He was bald.
What tastes better than it smells?
Show answer
Your tongue.
What has 21 eyes but cannot see?
Show answer
A die (the dots on its six sides add up to 21).
What can you find in the middle of Toronto?
Show answer
The letter O.
What is the longest word in the dictionary?
Show answer
"Smiles," because there is a mile between its first and last letter.
If an electric train is going south, which way does its smoke blow?
Show answer
There is no smoke. It's an electric train!
How can a pocket be empty and still have something in it?
Show answer
It can have a hole in it.
I am a word of three letters. Add two more and fewer there will be. What word am I?
Show answer
Few (add -er and you get fewer).
Two fathers and two sons go fishing. Each one catches a fish, but they bring home only three fish. How?
Show answer
There are only three people: a grandfather, his son and his grandson.
A cowboy rode into town on Friday, stayed three days and rode out on Friday. How?
Show answer
His horse's name was Friday.
Which letter of the alphabet holds the most water?
Show answer
The C (sea).
Why is the letter A like a flower?
Show answer
Because a B comes after it.
You walk into a dark room with a match, a candle and a lamp. What do you light first?
Show answer
The match.
What has four eyes but can't see?
Show answer
Mississippi (it has four i's).
Which side of a cat has the most fur?
Show answer
The outside.
What kind of nut has a hole in the middle?
Show answer
A doughnut.
What can pass right through glass without breaking it?
Show answer
Light.
All 21 Riddles with Answers: Tricky Riddles and Brain Teasers, One by One
Here is a closer look at every page in this collection: what it practices, which grade it fits and a tip for each one. 18 of them belong to a smaller theme and are described there instead.
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1. Animal Riddle Cards for Kids
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2. Food Riddle Cards for Kids
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3. School Riddle Cards for Kids
Eight classroom riddle cards: a clock, a ruler, a paintbrush, a map, a xylophone and more. Cut out the 8 cards; each answer is printed upside down at the bottom, with a small picture, so kids can quiz a friend. A free color printable for 1st grade and up. First graders can read it on their own and ask for help only with the trickier words.
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4. Thanksgiving Riddle Cards for Kids
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5. Christmas Riddle Cards for Kids
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6. Winter Riddle Cards for Kids
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7. Halloween Riddle Cards for Kids
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8. Tricky Riddle Cards for Kids
Eight classic tricky riddles with a twist, like what has hands but can't clap. Cut out the 8 cards; each answer is printed upside down at the bottom, with a small picture, so kids can quiz a friend. A free color printable for 2nd grade and up. Second graders usually finish it in 10 to 15 minutes, reading the text twice before the questions.
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9. Brain Teaser Riddle Cards for Kids
Eight harder brain teaser riddles about maps, sponges, stamps, pianos and more. Cut out the 8 cards; each answer is printed upside down at the bottom, with a small picture, so kids can quiz a friend. A free color printable for 3rd grade and up. It is aimed at third grade readers, around ages 8 to 9.
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10. Harder Thanksgiving Riddle Cards (Grade 3)
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11. Harder Christmas Riddle Cards (Grade 3)
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12. Tricky Halloween Riddle Cards (Grade 2)
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13. Number Riddles: What Number Am I? (Grade 1)
Download PDF + answer key · View page · More in Math Riddles for Kids (with Answers)
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14. Number Riddles: What Number Am I? (Grade 2)
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15. Number Riddles: What Number Am I? (Grade 3)
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16. Shape Riddles: What Shape Am I? (Grade 1)
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17. Telling Time Riddles: What Time Is It? (Grade 2)
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18. Money Riddles: What Coins Do I Have? (Grade 2)
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19. Thanksgiving Math Riddles: What Number Am I? (Grade 2)
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20. Christmas Math Riddles: What Number Am I? (Grade 3)
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21. Halloween Math Riddles: What Number Am I? (Grade 1)
Download PDF + answer key · View page · More in Halloween Riddles for Kids
Tips for parents and teachers
- Read slowly. Tricky riddles often hide the answer in a word you read too fast, like "letters" or "stories."
- Picture the riddle in your head, then picture it a different way.
- Before you show the answer, give one hint instead; solving it is more fun than being told.
Did you know?
- Letter riddles ("What comes once in a minute?") are about the spelling of the words, not their meaning.
- A brain teaser is a puzzle that needs a new way of looking at the question, not more knowledge.
- Kids often solve tricky riddles faster than adults because they take words literally.
Fun ways to use your printables
- Have a riddle duel: each player reads a riddle and the other gets three guesses.
- Turn a riddle card into a scavenger hunt clue.
- Ask your child to rewrite a riddle about a new object using the same trick.
How to print
Click Download PDF and print at 100% on US Letter or A4 paper. Page 1 is the worksheet and page 2 is the answer key, so choose “page 1” in the print dialog if you only want the practice page. Every worksheet is free for home, homeschool and classroom use, so print as many copies as you need.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a riddle tricky?
Most tricky riddles use a word with two meanings (the eye of a needle, the hands of a clock) or make you picture the wrong thing first. The answer always fits every word of the question once you see the trick.
Do all riddles have only one answer?
A good riddle has one answer that fits best. We picked riddles with a single clear answer, and the math riddles were checked by computer so exactly one number, shape or set of coins fits all the clues.
What age are these riddles for?
Most are fine from about age 6 with a little help. Letter riddles and brain teasers like the ones about the letter M or the word "short" are best for 7 to 10 year olds.
How can I use the riddle cards?
Cut them apart, put them in a jar and pull one out each day. Kids can read the riddle to the family and check the upside-down answer themselves.