50 Fun Riddles

Riddles are word games. They are questions with surprising but logical answers which test our ability to think carefully. Riddles often make us laugh when we hear their solutions. They try to trick us, but they also entertain and delight us. Because of this, riddles can be fun tools to warm up our brains before we start a mentally demanding task.

The 50 riddles below all test our ability to open our minds and to stretch our understanding of how words are used. These riddles are great for kids, adults, and English learners. See if you can figure them out without checking the answer, or ask them to your friends, family members, and colleagues.

1. What can you catch but can’t throw? A cold. show answer
2. What has one eye but can’t see? A needle. show answer
3. What appears once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? The letter M. show answer
4. I can go all around the world but never leave my corner. What am I? A stamp. show answer
5. If you drop me, I crack. If you smile at me, I smile back. What am I? A mirror. show answer
6. What has cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and water but no fish? A map. show answer
7. What kind of lion never roars? A dandelion. show answer
8. What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear. show answer
9. I don’t cry when you cut me, but you do. What am I? An onion. show answer
10. What has branches, but doesn’t have a trunk, leaves, or fruit? A bank. show answer
11. What word begins with E, ends with E, but only has one letter? Envelope. show answer
12. I am always in front of you, but you can’t see me. What am I? The future. show answer
13. I can’t talk, but I always reply when someone speaks. What am I? An echo. show answer
14. What can be touched but can’t be seen? Someone’s heart. show answer
15. What’s tall when it’s young but short when it’s old? A candle. (or a pencil) show answer
16. What gets wet while it’s drying? A towel. show answer
17. It belongs to you, but other people use it more than you do. What is it? Your name. show answer
18. What two things can you never eat before breakfast? Lunch and dinner. show answer
19. What is orange, wears a green hat, and sounds like a parrot? A carrot. show answer
20. What has hands but can’t clap? A clock. show answer
21. I jump when I walk and sit when I stand. What am I? A kangaroo. show answer
22. I have many teeth but I can’t bite. What am I? A comb. show answer
23. I have a head and a tail, but I don’t have a body. What am I? A coin. show answer
24. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I? Footsteps. show answer
25. What has many keys but can’t open a single lock? A piano. show answer
26. Where does today come before yesterday? The dictionary. show answer
27. What has many rings but no fingers? A phone. show answer
28. If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven’t kept me. What am I? A secret. show answer
29. What goes up and down but doesn’t move? A staircase. show answer
30. Which month of the year has 28 days? All of them. show answer
31. What needs to be broken before you can use it? An egg. show answer
32. What has a neck but doesn’t have a head? A bottle. show answer
33. How do you spell “cow” with thirteen letters? See O Double You show answer
34. What goes up but never comes down? Your age. show answer
35. David’s parents have three sons: Snap, Crackle, and what? David. show answer
36. I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What am I? Seven. show answer
37. The person who makes it doesn’t need it. The person who buys it doesn’t use it. The person who uses it doesn’t see it or feel it. What is it? A coffin. show answer
38. I have four fingers and a thumb, but I’m not alive. What am I? A glove. show answer
39. What kind of room has no doors, walls, or windows? A mushroom. show answer
40. How many seconds are in a year? Twelve. January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd… show answer
41. What is the only word in the dictionary that is spelled wrong? Wrong. W-R-O-N-G. show answer
42. Which word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? Short. show answer
43. What can you break without touching it? A promise. show answer
44. Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it, you die. What is it? Nothing. show answer
45. I sometimes run, but I can’t walk. What am I? A nose. show answer
46. It can fill a room, but it takes up no space. What is it? Light. show answer
47. What goes away as soon as you talk about it? Silence. show answer
48. I can be bigger than you but weigh nothing at all. What am I? Your shadow. show answer
49. What starts with T, ends with T, and has T inside it? A teapot. show answer
50. I have a head, but I have no brain. What am I? Lettuce. show answer