50 Riddles and Brain Teasers for Kids - Free Printable!

These riddles and brain teasers for kids are perfect for an icebreaker at the beginning of a class, for keeping kids busy on a road trip, or trying to stump each other at a family game night! Plus, solving riddles is good for developing thinking skills, and the riddles will spark good discussion.

We love all kinds of funny jokes for kids! Since we posted 75+ Hilarious Jokes for Kids, we’ve been saving and accumulating riddles for kids. My boys are so into this kind of thing right now. In fact, I decided to put these riddles in printable form also – maybe they’ll buy you a few minutes of peace on a road trip or while waiting at the doctor’s office. Either read them from this post, or scroll to the bottom of the post and print!

This post was originally published in May 2015 and updated October 2019.

Q: What gets wetter the more it dries? A towel.
Q: When you look for something, why is it always in the last place you look? Because when you find it, you stop looking!
Q: A cowboy rode into town on Friday. He stayed in town for three days and rode out on Friday. How was that possible? Friday was the name of his horse.
Q: One night, a king and a queen went into a castle. There was nobody in the castle, and no one came out of the castle. In the morning, three people came out of the castle. Who were they? The knight (night), the king, and the queen!
Q: Railroad crossing, watch out of cars. Can you spell that without any “r’s”? T-H-A-T
Q: What has a face and two hands, but no arms or legs? A clock.
Q: What has to be broken before you can use it? An egg.
Q: Lives in winter, dies in summer, and grows with its roots upward. What is it? An icicle.
Q: It starts out tall, but the longer it stands, the shorter it grows. What is it? A candle.
Q: What belongs to you but is used more by others? Your name.
Q: What goes up and never comes down? Your age.
Q: How can a man go 8 days without sleep? He only sleeps at night.
Q: I’m full of keys but I can’t open any door. What am I? A piano.
Q: What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive? A glove.
Q: A man found an old coin and declared that the date on it was 150 B.C. This could not be true. Why? Because B.C. is counting backwards from the birth of Christ. If Christ hadn’t been born yet, there were no dates in B.C. yet!
Q: Which is heavier, a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers? The same – a pound is a pound!
Q: I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest man can’t hold me for more than 5 minutes. What am I? Breath.
Q: Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday? Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Q: Timmy’s mother had three children. The first was named April, the next was named May. What was the name of the third child? Timmy of course!
Q: What kind of coat can only be put on when wet? A coat of paint.
Q: What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in one thousand years? The letter M.
Q: What has three feet but cannot walk? A yardstick.
Q: What runs, but never walks, often murmurs – never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats? A river.
Q: If you are running in a race and you pass the person in second place, what place are you in? Second place.
Q: What gets sharper the more you use it? Your brain.
Q: If I have it, I don’t share it. If I share it, I don’t have it. What is it? A secret.
Q: What can you catch but not throw? A cold.
Q: How many months have 28 days? All 12 months!
Q: They come out at night without being called, and are lost in the day without being stolen. What are they? Stars.
Q: What is full of holes but can still hold water? A sponge.
Q: Two in front, two in behind, and one in the middle. How many are there? Three. ( 1 2 ) 3 1 (2 3) 1 (2) 3
Q: What word is spelled wrong in every dictionary? The word “wrong!”
Q: What is easy to get into, but hard to get out of? Trouble!
Q: The more you take away, the bigger this becomes. What is it? A hole!
Q: What word contains 26 letters, but only three syllables? Alphabet!
Q: A girl fell off a long staircase. She wasn’t hurt. Why? She fell off the bottom step.
Q: It follows you and copies your every move. But you can’t touch it or catch it. What is it? Your shadow.
Q: What building has thousands of stories? The library!
Q: What has a neck but no head? A bottle!
Q: A bat and a ball cost $1.10. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? 5 cents.
Q: What invention allows you to look right through a wall? A window!
Q: What are two things you can NEVER eat for breakfast? Lunch and dinner!
Q: What goes up and down but never moves? The temperature!(Alternative answer – a flight of stairs!)
Q: The more you take, the more you leave behind? What are they? Footprints!
Q: I have no eyes, no ears, and legs, and yet I help move the earth. What am I? An earthworm!
Q: If there are three cookies and you take away two, how many do you have? If you take two, then of course you have two!
Q: What do dogs have that no other animal has? Puppies!
Q: A man was walking in the middle of nowhere and it started to rain. He had no umbrella and no hat, but not a single hair on his head got wet. How can this be? The man was bald!
Q: Give me food, and I will live. Give me water, and I will die. What am I? Fire!
Q: First, I threw away the outside and cooked the inside. Then I ate the outside and threw away the inside. What did I eat? Corn on the cob!

Ready to print your riddles and brain teasers? Click here to print: 50 Riddles and Brain Teasers for Kids

Or click here for 75 Hilarious Jokes for Kids

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