Riddles with answers
These riddles with answers are written to be read aloud, puzzled over and shared. You will find over 100 riddles here, from gentle ones for young children to hard riddles and tricky questions that can stump the whole family.
Each riddle has one fair answer hidden behind the Show answer button, so try to guess before you tap. Start with the easy riddles, move through everyday objects, nature, animals and wordplay, and finish with the hard and tricky set. Wherever a riddle uses numbers or a play on letters, we explain the answer in a line.
Easy riddles with answers
Riddle 1
I wake you every morning but I never sleep myself. I ring or buzz until you press me for five more minutes. What am I?
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An alarm clockRiddle 2
The more of me you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
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FootstepsRiddle 3
I am full of keys, yet I cannot open a single door. You tap me to type words. What am I?
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A keyboardRiddle 4
I open up when the rain comes down and fold myself away when the sun returns. What am I?
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An umbrellaRiddle 5
My spine has no bones, I wear a cover but no blanket, and my pages are full of stories. What am I?
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A bookRiddle 6
I start as a plain white slice. Drop me in a slot, and a minute later I jump up golden brown. What am I?
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ToastRiddle 7
I sit on your nose and hook over your ears, and I turn blurry words sharp again. What am I?
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Spectacles (glasses)Riddle 8
Round and blazing in the daytime sky, I am too bright to look at, and every evening I set in the west. What am I?
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The sunRiddle 9
Four legs and a back, but I never take a step. You sit on me at the dinner table. What am I?
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A chairRiddle 10
Kids blow me up, tie my end and bounce me around at birthday parties. One pin and I am gone. What am I?
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A balloonRiddle 11
I come in a pair, I keep your feet warm, and one of me always seems to go missing in the wash. What am I?
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SocksRiddle 12
Soft, white and cold, I fall in winter, and children roll me into a man with a carrot nose. What am I?
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SnowRiddle 13
Step by step you climb me, rung by rung, to reach the roof or a high shelf. What am I?
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A ladderRiddle 14
Every night you write your day inside me, and my little lock keeps your secrets safe. What am I?
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A diaryRiddle 15
A hundred tiny bristles, and I visit your mouth every morning and every night. What am I?
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A toothbrush
Riddles about everyday objects
Riddle 16
I have a head and a tail but no body. People flip me to settle an argument. What am I?
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A coinRiddle 17
Thin and sharp, I have one eye but cannot see. I pull thread through cloth. What am I?
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A needleRiddle 18
I stand beside your bed with a switch on my neck, and I chase the dark out of one small corner. What am I?
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A lampRiddle 19
Every morning I show you your own face, but I swap your left and right. What am I?
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A mirrorRiddle 20
A tall box that keeps food cold. You open my door a hundred times a day and a little light greets you. What am I?
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A fridgeRiddle 21
One silver tooth is all I need. I bite your pages together so they stay as one. What am I?
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A staplerRiddle 22
A neck but no head, and a cap on top. You drink from me. What am I?
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A bottleRiddle 23
My sharp blades spin with a loud whirr and turn tomatoes and chillies into chutney in seconds. What am I?
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A mixer grinderRiddle 24
You carry me to school on your back, full of books, and I come home with tiffin crumbs inside. What am I?
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A school bagRiddle 25
I fold into your back pocket and hold your money, cards and old bills. What am I?
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A walletRiddle 26
No feet, yet I travel around the house roaring loudly and swallowing every crumb on the floor. What am I?
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A vacuum cleanerRiddle 27
I am full of holes, yet I still hold water. What am I?
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A spongeRiddle 28
Tick by tick, I ride on your wrist and tell you when it is time to leave for school. What am I?
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A wristwatchRiddle 29
I light up a room with one tiny flame, but every time I work, I grow shorter. What am I?
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A candleRiddle 30
Turn my knob and I run hot or cold, fill your bucket, and drip all night if you forget me. What am I?
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A tap
Nature riddles with answers
Riddle 31
My bed is never slept in, my mouth never eats, and I run all day without getting tired. What am I?
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A riverRiddle 32
After the rain I paint the sky in seven bands of colour, but you can never touch me. What am I?
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A rainbowRiddle 33
I follow you all day in the sunshine, but the moment clouds arrive, I disappear. What am I?
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Your shadowRiddle 34
I float across the sky with no wings, and when I grow dark and heavy, the fields get a drink. What am I?
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A cloudRiddle 35
Born in the sea, I hide in almost every meal, and I sparkle white in a kitchen jar. What am I?
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SaltRiddle 36
Every autumn I let go of my branch, turn red and gold, and sail away on the wind. What am I?
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A leafRiddle 37
I flash across the sky for one bright second, and my loud friend arrives a few seconds later. What am I?
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LightningRiddle 38
Tall and old, I hide rings you cannot wear, and birds build homes in my arms. What am I?
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A treeRiddle 39
The more of me there is, the less you see. What am I?
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DarknessRiddle 40
A ball of ice and rock, I grow a long glowing tail as I swing close to the sun. What am I?
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A cometRiddle 41
A white blanket over the road at dawn, I make cars switch on their lights, and I melt away by ten o'clock. What am I?
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FogRiddle 42
Far away in the night sky, I still pull the sea up the beach and back twice a day. What am I?
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The moonRiddle 43
Tiny drops on the grass at sunrise, I come without any rain and vanish once the sun warms up. What am I?
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DewRiddle 44
I spin all the time, yet you never feel it. One full turn of mine gives you a day and a night. What am I?
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The EarthRiddle 45
A mountain that breathes smoke, I sometimes spill rivers of red hot rock down my sides. What am I?
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A volcano
Animal riddles with answers
Riddle 46
I carry my house on my back and leave a shiny trail wherever I go. What am I?
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A snailRiddle 47
All day I hang upside down asleep. At night I fly and find my way using echoes. What am I?
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A batRiddle 48
Nobody stands taller than me. My long neck reaches leaves at the very top of the tree. What am I?
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A giraffeRiddle 49
I change colour to match my branch, and my two eyes can look in different directions at once. What am I?
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A chameleonRiddle 50
I chew the same meal twice and give the village its morning milk. What am I?
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A cowRiddle 51
My striped coat is black and white, and no two of my kind wear the same pattern. What am I?
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A zebraRiddle 52
I build a house of wax with six-sided rooms and fill it with something sweet. What am I?
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A honeybeeRiddle 53
Eight arms, three hearts and blue blood. When danger comes, I squirt ink and swim away. What am I?
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An octopusRiddle 54
Once I crawled and munched on leaves. Now I flutter from flower to flower on painted wings. What am I?
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A butterflyRiddle 55
I cannot fly, I wear a black and white suit, and I slide on my belly across the ice. What am I?
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A penguinRiddle 56
My mane is my crown, and my roar can be heard about eight kilometres away. What am I?
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A lionRiddle 57
I walk across the desert for days without a drink, carrying a hump on my back. What am I?
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A camelRiddle 58
I hop across Australia with my baby tucked safely in a pouch. What am I?
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A kangarooRiddle 59
I spin a silver net between two branches and wait for my dinner to fly into it. What am I?
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A spiderRiddle 60
Grey and huge, I have a trunk but I am not a tree, and I spray water over my back to cool down. What am I?
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An elephant
Wordplay riddles and letter riddles
Riddle 61
Which word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
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ShortAdd 'er' and you get 'shorter'.
Riddle 62
What has to be broken before you can use it?
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An eggRiddle 63
What can you catch but never throw?
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A coldRiddle 64
I am something you do with your ears. Take away my first letter and I become the thing you do it with. What am I?
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HearHEAR minus H leaves EAR.
Riddle 65
What starts with T, ends with T, and has T in it?
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A teapotIt begins and ends with the letter T and holds tea inside.
Riddle 66
Which word in the dictionary is always spelled wrong?
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WrongThe word 'wrong' is always spelled W R O N G.
Riddle 67
I am a little word that means the opposite of out. Put a K in front of me and I mean your family. What am I?
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InK plus IN makes KIN, which means family.
Riddle 68
What gets bigger the more you take away from it?
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A holeRiddle 69
I am a fruit. Change my first letter to B and I become a big furry animal. What am I?
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A pearPEAR becomes BEAR.
Riddle 70
I read the same backwards and forwards, and I am the time when the sun is highest. What word am I?
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NoonN O O N is a palindrome meaning midday.
Riddle 71
Shout me at a car to make it halt. Read me backwards and I become cooking vessels in your kitchen. What word am I?
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StopSTOP reversed is POTS.
Riddle 72
Which letter of the alphabet holds the most water?
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CIt sounds like 'sea'.
Riddle 73
Which letter of the alphabet is always asking a question?
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YIt sounds like 'why'.
Riddle 74
Which letter of the alphabet grows inside a green pod?
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PIt sounds like 'pea'.
Riddle 75
Say my name and you sound like the number after one, but I am a small word that means 'also'. What am I?
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Too'Too' sounds like 'two' and means also.
Hard riddles with answers
Riddle 76
I am not alive, but I grow. I need air but have no lungs, and water kills me. What am I?
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FireRiddle 77
What can travel all around the world while staying in one corner?
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A stampA postage stamp sits in the corner of an envelope that travels the world.
Riddle 78
I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I come alive when you shout in the hills. What am I?
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An echoRiddle 79
I have cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and water but no fish. What am I?
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A mapRiddle 80
I hold every word you might look up, neatly ordered from A to Z, yet I tell no story. What am I?
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A dictionaryRiddle 81
I am always one day ahead of you. You can never catch me, because when you reach me I change my name to today. What am I?
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TomorrowRiddle 82
It belongs to you, yet your friends use it far more often than you do. What is it?
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Your nameRiddle 83
I am a table with no legs, and every element has its own seat at me. What am I?
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The periodic tableRiddle 84
I appear twice in a week and once in a year, but never in a day. What am I?
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The letter EWEEK has two Es, YEAR has one and DAY has none.
Riddle 85
Look at a clock showing 3:15. What is the angle between the hour hand and the minute hand?
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7.5 degreesThe minute hand is at 90 degrees, while the hour hand has moved a quarter of the way past 3, to 97.5 degrees. The gap is 7.5 degrees.
Riddle 86
Every lock wants one, every map shows one in a corner, and a piano has eighty-eight of them. What am I?
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A keyRiddle 87
You can make me, keep me or break me, yet I weigh nothing and you cannot touch me. What am I?
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A promiseRiddle 88
I lie on the surface of every still pond, I copy the moon perfectly, and a single pebble breaks me into pieces. What am I?
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A reflectionRiddle 89
Tell me to one friend and I am safe. Tell me to everyone and I no longer exist. What am I?
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A secretRiddle 90
A father is four times as old as his son. In 20 years he will be only twice as old. How old are they now?
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Father 40, son 1040 is 4 times 10, and in 20 years they will be 60 and 30, so the father is twice the son's age.
Riddle 91
Five tailors stitch five shirts in five days. How many tailors are needed to stitch 20 shirts in 20 days?
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Five tailorsEach tailor makes one shirt every five days, so in 20 days one tailor makes 4 shirts and five tailors make 20.
Riddle 92
A pen and a notebook cost ₹110 together. The notebook costs ₹100 more than the pen. How much does the pen cost?
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₹5If the pen is ₹5, the notebook is ₹105, and together they make ₹110.
Tricky riddle questions
Riddle 93
Ask anyone which month is the shortest and they say February. Which month is really the shortest when you write it?
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MayMay has only three letters, fewer than any other month name.
Riddle 94
Two buses leave Pune and Mumbai at the same moment, driving towards each other. When they meet, which bus is nearer to Mumbai?
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Neither, they are at the same spotAt the moment they meet, both buses are in the same place, so they are equally far from Mumbai.
Riddle 95
Arjun has turned 20 years old, but he has celebrated only 5 birthdays on his actual birth date. How?
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He was born on 29 FebruaryThe 29th of February comes only once every four years, so it appears 5 times in his first 20 years.
Riddle 96
Neha faces north. She turns right, turns right again, then turns left. Which way is she facing now?
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EastRight takes her to east, right again to south, and left brings her back to east.
Riddle 97
A tea stall sign says 'Free tea tomorrow'. Kabir visits every single day but never gets free tea. Why?
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Tomorrow never comesEach day the sign still says tomorrow, so the free tea is always one day away.
Riddle 98
A box of 12 pencils costs ₹48. How much will a dozen pencils cost?
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₹48A dozen is 12, so it is the same box.
Riddle 99
Seven sisters each have exactly one brother. How many children are in the family?
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EightAll seven sisters share the same one brother, so there are 7 girls and 1 boy.
Riddle 100
A clock takes 5 seconds to strike 6 o'clock. How long will it take to strike 12 o'clock?
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11 secondsSix strikes have 5 gaps, so each gap is 1 second. Twelve strikes have 11 gaps, which take 11 seconds.
Riddle 101
In a race, I finished ahead of two runners and behind three. How many runners were in the race?
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SixTwo behind me, three ahead of me, plus me makes six.
Riddle 102
A basket holds six eggs. Six people each take one egg, yet one egg is still in the basket. How?
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The last person took the basket tooThe sixth person picked up the basket with the egg still in it.
All riddles: images to share
Save any card and share it. The answer is printed upside down at the bottom of each card.
How to use these riddles
Riddles work best as a game. In class, a teacher can read one riddle at the start of a lesson and give students a minute to whisper guesses to a partner. At parties, split guests into two teams, read a riddle and give a point to whoever answers first. With young kids, stay with the easy, animal and everyday object sections and give gentle hints such as 'it is in the kitchen'.
For tricky riddles, read every word slowly, because the twist usually hides in one small word like 'actual', 'dozen' or 'meet'. Ask yourself whether a word could have a second meaning or whether the riddle is really about letters. If you are still stuck, say the riddle out loud, then picture the scene. Most answers turn out to be something ordinary you see every day.
Tips
- Read the riddle twice and underline the words that sound strange or very specific.
- Picture the scene in your head, because many riddles describe something ordinary in an unusual way.
- For wordplay riddles, try saying the words out loud and spelling them backwards.
More riddles and puzzles
Questions people ask
What are some good riddles with answers for kids?
Kids enjoy riddles about things they already know, such as animals, fruit and objects at home. Try the easy and animal sections on this page, like the riddle about the snail that carries its house. Short riddles with a clear picture in the clue work best for children under ten.
What is the hardest riddle on this page?
Many readers get stuck on the letter E riddle and the clock angle question in the hard section. Both look simple, but they need you to think about letters and exact positions rather than everyday objects.
How do I solve riddles faster?
Look for words with double meanings, such as 'bed', 'mouth' or 'tail', since riddles often use them in an unusual way. Practise regularly, because you will start spotting the same kinds of tricks again and again.
Can I use these riddles in class or on WhatsApp?
Yes, these riddles are made for sharing with family, friends and students. The shorter ones also work well as daily riddle cards in a class group or a family chat.
What is a riddle question?
A riddle question describes something in a clever or puzzling way and asks you to guess what it is. A good riddle has one answer that feels obvious once you hear it.
Every riddle on this page is written and checked by the Paheli World team. How we make our riddles.