300 Awesome Riddles for Kids (2023)

• Family Fun,

Riddles for kids are great for giving those junior-sized brains a jumbo-sized workout. Sure, riddles are silly and might give your kids a great way to put on a show, but they’re actually great for thinking outside the box, connecting the dots, and problem-solving. If you think you’ve heard them all, just wait—because we’ve got enough riddles for kids to keep your family stumped for hours.

These riddles for kids are great for all ages. Little ones can work on their reading skills and bigger kids can come up with clues to help provide hints. So be sure to let the kids take turns being the “riddler” while the rest of the family tries to figure out the answers. They’ll love the fact that even if it’s only for a second, they know more than Mom and Dad. Or pull them up on your phone andlet the kids share a few while you’re on a long drive or while they sit at the kitchen counter as you get dinner prepped. Laughter and puzzles actually help families connect, so go on and get to riddling!

On this page, there are hundreds of everyday riddles. The links below will take you to iMOM riddles with a specific topic.

• • • Spring Riddles for Kids
    • St. Patrick’s Day Riddles for Kids
    • April Fools Riddles for Kids
    • Easter Riddles for Kids
    • 4th of July Riddles for Kids
    • Halloween Riddles for Kids
    • Thanksgiving Riddles for Kids
    • Christmas Riddles for Kids
    • Brain Teaser Riddles for Kids
    • Family Fun Riddles
    • Math Riddles for Kids
    • What Am I Riddles for Kids

Everyday Riddles for Kids:

1. What three-letter word is a mousetrap?
   Cat
2. How can you keep an elephant from charging?
   Take away its credit card
3. What has 18 legs and catches flies?
   A baseball team
4. Why does a giraffe eat so little?
   Because a little goes a long way.
5. What’s the best present for a deaf goldfish?
   A herring aid
6. How do you keep a skunk from smelling?
   Hold its nose.
7. If 2 is company and 3 is a crowd, what are 4 and 5?
   9!
8. Why did the girl go outside with her purse open?
   She was expecting some change in the weather.
9. What’s 102 stories high, wears a black cape, and has very sharp teeth?
   The vampire state building
10. What do giraffes have that no other animal has?
    Little giraffes
11. When are cooks mean?
    When they beat the eggs and whip the cream.
12. Why was the watchdog spinning around and around?
    He was winding himself up.
13. Why does a baby pig eat so much?
    To make a hog out of himself
14. What kind of shoes are made of banana skins?
    Slippers
15. What do tarantulas drink?
    Apple spider
16. What is gray, has four legs, big ears, a tail, and a trunk?
    A mouse going on vacation
17. On what day of the year do women talk least?
    On the shortest day of the year
18. If 20 dogs run after one dog, what time is it?
    Twenty after one
19. Why should you take a ruler to bed?
    To see how long you slept
20. What’s the best way to catch a fish?
    Have someone throw it to you.
21. What did the rug say to the floor?
    Don’t move—I have you covered.
22. What did the duck say when it laid a square egg?
    Ouch!
23. What has 1,000 legs and no feet?
    500 pairs of pants
24. What has one foot on each side and one in the middle?
    A yardstick
25. What is the difference between a tuna fish and a piano?
    You can’t tune a fish.
26. Which month has 28 days in it?
    All months
27. What are King Kong’s favorite cookies?
    Chocolate chimp
28. What do you get if you put a mother duck and five ducklings into a box?
    A box of quackers
29. Who always goes to sleep with his shoes on?
    A horse
30. What’s the first thing that happens when a boy jumps in the lake?
    He gets wet.
31. If 10 birds were sitting on a telegraph wire and you shot one, how many would be left?
    None. The others would all fly away.
32. What’s the last thing you do before you go to sleep?
    Close your eyes.
33. What kind of ears do engines have?
    Engineers
34. Where is a sneeze usually pointed?
    Atchoo!
35. What has the head of a cat, the tail of a cat—but is not a cat?
    A kitten
36. Why is a traffic cop the strongest man in the world?
    Because he can hold up a 10-ton truck with one hand
37. How do you get down off an elephant?
    You don’t get down off an elephant. You get down off a duck.
38. How can you keep fish from smelling?
    Cut off their noses.
39. Why should you never punish a cat?
    Because it’s already purrfect.
40. What bus crossed the ocean?
    Columbus
41. Why does the giraffe have such a long neck?
    Because its head is so far from its body.
42. Where was the dog when the lights went out?
    In the dark
43. How is a cat on a beach like Christmas?
    They both have sandy claws.
44. What happens when you cross a bulldog with a Plymouth Rock hen?
    The hen lays pooched eggs.
45. Why does a spider make a good baseball player?
    Because he catches flies.
46. Where do sheep go to get their hair cut?
    The baa-baa shop
47. What has many eyes and never cries?
    A potato
48. How can you find a lost rabbit?
    Make a noise like a carrot.
49. Why is the girl getting a suntan like a small bucket?
    They’re both a little pale.
50. What is full of holes but holds water?
    A sponge
51. What did one wall say to another?
    Meet you at the corner.
52. Why did Robin Hood rob only the rich?
    Because the poor had no money.
53. What’s a cat’s favorite dessert?
    Mice pudding
54. When is a sheepdog most likely to go into a house?
    When the door is open.
55. How do you look at a hippo’s teeth?
    Very carefully
56. Which side of a grizzly bear has the most fur?
    The outside
57. Why do birds fly South?
    Because it’s too far to walk.
58. What is the difference between a howling wind and an umbrella?
    You can shut an umbrella up.
59. How much fur can you get from a skunk?
    As fur as possible
60. Why are fish so smart?
    Because they travel in schools.
61. A butcher is 6 feet tall and wears a size 12 shoe. What does he weigh?
    Meat, of course
62. What kind of a dot can dance?
    A polka dot
63. What do you call a cat who drinks lemonade?
    A sourpuss
64. Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?
    At the bottom
65. What is black and white and has 16 wheels?
    A zebra on roller skates
66. Who’s bigger? Mr. Bigger or Mr. Bigger’s baby?
    Mr. Bigger’s baby—he’s a little bigger.
67. What contains more feet in winter than in summer?
    A skating rink
68. What 10-letter word starts with GAS?
    AUTOMOBILE!
69. What animal drops from the clouds?
    The rain, dear
70. What’s the worst season of the year for tightrope walkers?
    The fall
71. On which side of a church does a tree grow?
    On the outside
72. What did the big toe say to the little toe?
    Don’t look now, but there’s a heel following us.
73. What happens when a giant walks through your garden?
    All your vegetables turn to squash.
74. How can you make pants last?
    Make the coats and vests first.
75. What do you call a very, very young robin?
    An egg
76. What did the dirt say when it rained?
    If this keeps up, my name is mud!
77. Which is faster: heat or cold?
    Heat. You can catch a cold.
78. Why is the Statue of Liberty standing in the New York harbor?
    Because she can’t sit down.
79. What is at the end of dinner?
    The letter R
80. What bird is always sad?
    A blue jay
81. What’s the easiest way to double your money?
    Fold it.
82. What should you do if you catch a dog eating your dictionary?
    Take the words right out of his mouth.
83. If two kids share eight pieces of cherry pie, and one kid only gets to eat one piece, what does the other get?
    A stomach ache
84. What kind of pie looks the best?
    A Q-T pie
85. What belongs to you but is used more by others?
    Your name
86. What gets wet as it dries?
    A towel
87. Where does Monday come before Sunday?
    In the dictionary
88. How do you make a banana shake?
    Take it to a scary movie.
89. Why is it useless to send a letter to Washington today?
    Because he died in 1799.
90. Where will you find Friday before Thursday?
    In a dictionary
91. What goes up but never comes down?
    Your age
92. How do you make anti-freeze?
    Take away her blanket.
93. How long is a shoe?
    A foot long
94. What flies all day but never goes anywhere?
    A flag
95. What is the hardest kind of bean to raise on a farm?
    Jelly beans
96. Where does a dog keep its car?
    In a barking lot
97. Why are ghosts bad at lying?
    Because you can see right through them.
98. Imagine that you are in a room that is filling with water. There are no windows or doors. How do you get out?
    Stop imagining.
99. What kind of dog can tell time?
    A watchdog
100. What two things can never be eaten for breakfast?
     Lunch and dinner
101. Why do bees hum?
     Because they don’t know the words.
102. What’s the difference between a nickel and a penny?
     Four cents
103. What does the duck say when he hears his stomach rumble?
     “Oh, I have a stomach quake.”
104. Why do some monkeys sell potato chips?
     Because they’re chip monks.
105. What word is always pronounced wrong?
     Wrong
106. Why did Mickey Mouse go to outer space?
     He wanted to visit Pluto.
107. What kind of train has a head cold?
     Achoo achoo train
108. What did the duckling say when he saw his first colored Easter egg?
     “Ooh, look at the orange marmalade.”
109. What do you call a fairy that hasn’t taken a bath?
     Stinker Bell
110. What are crispy and crunchy and sail the ocean blue?
     Potato ships
111. What did the baseball glove say to the ball?
     Catch you later!
112. If an athlete gets athlete’s foot, what does an astronaut get?
     Missile toe
113. When is the worst time to build a snowman?
     Summertime
114. What do you call it when your parachute doesn’t open?
     Jumping to a conclusion
115. How do oceans say hello to each other?
     They wave
116. How can you know when it’s raining cats and dogs?
     Step into a poodle
117. Why did the coconut go out with a pineapple?
     He couldn’t get a date.
118. What can you catch but not throw?
     A cold
119. What do you call a carpenter who can’t find his tools?
     A saw loser
120. What word becomes shorter when a syllable is added to it?
     The word short
121. What should a man know before trying to teach a dog?
     More than the dog
122. What letter of the alphabet is the opposite of me?
     U
123. When should a baker quit making doughnuts?
     When he gets sick of the hole business.
124. What did the near-sighted porcupine say when it backed into a cactus?
     “Pardon me, honey.”
125. What’s the most dangerous letter in the alphabet?
     The killer B
126. What’s the longest word in the dictionary?
     Smiles. There is a mile between the first and last letters.
127. Why did the moth eat the rug?
     To see the floor show
128. What question can never be answered “Yes”?
     “Are you asleep?”
129. What letter of the alphabet is a question?
     Y
130. With what two animals do you always go to bed?
     Two calves
131. What American has had the largest family?
     George Washington, the father of his country
132. What is the smallest bridge in the world?
     The bridge of your nose
133. How is your hand like a hardware store?
     It has nails.
134. How many soft-boiled eggs could the giant Goliath eat on an empty stomach?
     One, after which his stomach would not be empty.
135. What is that which is bought by the yard and worn by the foot?
     Carpet
136. Why is your nose not 12 inches long?
     Because then it would be a foot.
137. What makes a road broad?
     The letter b
138. Name a lock no one can pick.
     A lock of hair from a bald head
139. Though I dance at a ball, I am nothing at all. What am I?
     A shadow
140. What makes a pair of shoes?
     Two shoes
141. What is the end of everything?
     The letter “g”
142. How far can you go into the woods?
     As far as the center, and then you’ll be going out.
143. Which man shaves 20 or more times a day?
     A barber
144. What is full of holes and still holds water?
     A sponge
145. What is so brittle that even to name it is to break it?
     Silence
146. What goes up and never goes down?
     Your age
147. What flower does a person carry around all year?
     Tulips
148. What ant is the youngest?
     Infant
149. What is taken from you before you get it?
     Your picture
150. Which bird is very rude?
     The mocking bird
151. What goes uphill and downhill, and always stays in the same place?
     A road
152. What pen should never be used for writing?
     A pig pen
153. What room can no one enter?
     A mushroom
154. What driver never gets arrested?
     A screwdriver
155. Three men were under one umbrella but none of them got wet. How did they do it?
     It wasn’t raining.
156. What tune makes everybody glad?
     Fortune
157. Why is it that whenever you are looking for something, you always find it in the last place you look?
     Because you stop looking once you find it.
158. What trembles at each breath of air, but can bear the heaviest burdens?
     Water
159. Why is the sun like a good loaf of bread?
     Because it’s light when it rises.
160. When is a door not a door?
     When it’s a-jar.
161. If your uncle’s sister is not your aunt, what is her relation to you?
     She is your mother.
162. What asks no questions but requires many answers?
     A doorbell
163. There is a rooster sitting on top of a barn. If it laid an egg, which way would it roll?
     Roosters don’t lay eggs.
164. When is music like vegetables?
     When there are two beats (beets) to the measure.
165. What is the highest building in your city?
     The library has the most stories.
166. What has every living person seen, but will never see again?
     Yesterday
167. What never uses its teeth for eating?
     A comb
168. When is a chair like a dress?
     When it is sat-in.
169. What table has no legs to stand on?
     A multiplication table
170. When is it right to lie?
     When you are in bed.
171. How far is it from March to June?
     A single spring
172. What has a mouth but never eats?
     A river
173. What is the last thing you take off before going to bed?
     Your feet from the floor.
174. What is the difference between a coat and a baby?
     The one you wear, the other you were
175. Which is better: an old 10 dollar bill or a new one?
     An old TEN dollar bill rather than a new ONE
176. Who was older: David or Goliath?
     David, because he rocked Goliath to sleep.
177. What is lost and never found again?
     Time
178. Where was Solomon’s temple?
     On the side of his head
179. When does a public speaker steal lumber?
     When he takes the floor.
180. What smells the most in a candle store?
     Your nose
181. Why can’t the world ever end?
     Because it’s round.
182. Where can happiness always be found?
     In the dictionary
183. What is the best and cheapest light?
     Daylight
184. Why is distance at sea not measured by miles?
     Because it’s knot
185. Why is a bad pin like a broken pencil?
     Because it has no point.
186. Why does Uncle Sam wear red-white-and-blue suspenders?
     To hold up his pants
187. What was the largest island before Australia was discovered?
     Australia was always the largest.
188. What part of London is in France?
     The letter N
189. Spell “enemy” in three letters.
     F O E
190. What does an iron-clad vessel of war, with four inches of steel plating and all her guns on board, weigh just before starting on a cruise?
     She weighs anchor.
191. How can five people divide five cookies so that each gets a cookie and yet one cookie remains on the plate?
     The last person takes the plate with the remaining cookie.
192. What can a person place in his right hand but not in his left hand?
     His left elbow
193. What is the difference between the North Pole and the South Pole?
     All the difference in the world
194. Which is the strongest day of the week?
     Sunday; the rest are weekdays.
195. Why do we all go to bed?
     Because the bed will not come to us.
196. What plant stands for four?
     Ivy (IV)
197. What word will, if you take away the first letter, make you sick?
     Music
198. What time of the day was Adam created?
     Just a little before Eve
199. What is the most warlike nation?
     Vacci-nation, because it is always in arms.
200. What vegetable is unpopular on a ship?
     A leek (leak)
201. What chins are never shaved?
     Ur-chins
202. What goes through a door but never goes in or comes out?
     A keyhole
203. What is the most difficult train to catch?
     The 12:50, because it’s 10 to one if you catch it.
204. What is everything doing at the same time?
     Growing older
205. Where did Noah strike the first nail in the ark?
     On the head
206. What do both a tooth and a tree have?
     Roots
207. What can’t run, even though it has three feet?
     A yardstick
208. What fruit is mentioned most in history?
     Dates
209. How can you make one pound of green tea go as far as five pounds of black?
     Buy both in New York and send them to Maine.
210. What has a bed, but never sleeps?
     A river
211. What did Paul Revere say when he finished his famous ride?
     “Whoa!”
212. On which side does a chicken have the most feathers?
     The outside
213. Why can’t it rain for two days continuously?
     Because there is always a night in between.
214. What is that we often return and never borrow?
     Thanks
215. What do we see made, but never after it’s made?
     A noise
216. When is a blue book not a blue book?
     When it’s read (red).
217. What kind of paper tells you who you are?
     Tissue (‘tis you)
218. How can we become wiser from a box of pins?
     It will give us many good points.
219. Where is the largest diamond in Boston kept?
     On a baseball field
220. What can’t you see, even though it’s always before you?
     The future
221. Take away my first letter, I remain unchanged; take away my second letter, I’m still the same; take away all my letters and I still continue unchanged. What am I?
     A mailman
222. What is too much for one, enough for two, but nothing at all for three?
     A secret
223. What is filled every morning and emptied every night, except once a year when it is filled at night and emptied in the morning?
     A stocking
224. In what time do people do all their talking?
     In a lifetime
225. Why is “A” like twelve o’clock?
     Because it is in the middle of the day.
226. Of what trade is the president of the United States?
     A cabinet-maker
227. Why is a pulled tooth like a thing forgotten?
     It’s out of the head.
228. What is the best thing to take before singing?
     A breath
229. How is a Bible scholar like a merchant?
     Because he studies the prophets (profits).
230. What is the largest rope in the world?
     Europe
231. Why is an island like the letter T?
     Because it’s in the middle of water.
232. How can you make five less by adding one to it?
     IV
233. What will be yesterday but was tomorrow?
     Today
234. Why is the letter E like London?
     They’re both the capital of England.
235. How is Ireland like a bottle of wine?
     It has a Cork in it.
236. When are houses like books?
     When they have stories.
237. Why do you always put on your left shoe last?
     Once you put on one, the other is left.
238. When is an altered dress like a secret?
     When it is let out.
239. Which burns longer: a wax or tallow candle?
     Neither; both burn shorter.
240. How many sides does a circle have?
     Two; outside and inside.
241. Why did Babe Ruth make so much money?
     Because a good batter makes good dough.
242. What nation do people dread?
     Condem-nation
243. Why is the Stock Exchange a den of wild beasts?
     It’s full of bulls and bears.
244. When does a ship fool you?
     When it lies at the wharf.
245. What nation always wins?
     Determi-nation
246. What age is served for breakfast?
     Sausage
247. What are the most difficult ships to conquer?
     Hard-ships
248. What does x-p-d-n-c spell?
     Expediency
249. Why was Washington buried standing?
     Because he couldn’t lie.
250. Why are the Middle Ages called the Dark Ages?
     Because there were so many nights (knights).
251. Why should soldiers be tired on the first of April?
     Because they just had to march 31 days.
252. Why is a riddle like a parrot?
     It is far-fetched and full of nonsense.
253. What must you add to nine to make it six?
     S (S + IX = six)
254. What pets make the sweetest music?
     Trumpets
255. Why is the letter D like a sailor?
     It follows the C (sea).
256. Where were the first doughnuts fried?
     In Greece (grease)
257. How is a nobleman like a book?
     He has a title.
258. When is a pig like ink?
     When you put it in a pen.
259. When are words musical?
     When they have a ring to them.
260. Why are clouds like coachmen?
     They hold the reins (rains).
261. What is the difference between fog and a falling star?
     One is mist on earth and the other is missed in heaven.
262. What did Adam do when he wanted sugar?
     Raised Cain
263. Why are lobsters like politicians?
     Because they change color when they get into hot water.
264. What does a person usually grow in a garden if he works hard?
     Tired
265. What is the hardest thing about learning to ride a bicycle?
     The pavement
266. How can you divide 17 apples equally among 11 boys if four of them are very small?
     By making them into applesauce
267. What occurs twice in a moment, once in a minute, and never in a thousand years?
     The letter M
268. What relation is that child to its father who is not its father’s own son?
     His daughter
269. Why did John’s mother knit him three stockings when he was in the army?
     Because John wrote her that had gotten so tall he had grown another foot.
270. What is the difference between a greyhound and a locomotive?
     One is trained to run and the other runs a train.
271. What is the surest way to keep water from getting into your house?
     Don’t pay your water bill.
272. What was the difference between Noah’s ark and Joan of Arc?
     One was made of wood and the other was Maid of Orleans.
273. What divides by uniting, and unites by dividing?
     Scissors
274. What did Adam never have, but give his children?
     Parents
275. What is the difference between twice twenty-two and twice two and twenty?
     One is 44, the other 24
276. What word, by changing a single letter, becomes its own opposite?
     United (untied)
277. I came to town and met three people; they were neither men, nor women, nor children; what were they?
     A man, a woman, and a child
278. Why is a room full of married folks like an empty room?
     Because there is not a single person in it.
279. Why should a horse not be hungry on a journey?
     Because he has a bit in his mouth.
280. What sentence did Adam use when he introduced himself to Eve, which reads the same backward and forward?
     “Madam, I’m Adam!”
281. What has neither flesh nor bone, but has fingers and a thumb?
     A glove
282. What is the most moral musical instrument?
     An upright piano
283. What coat is finished without buttons and put on wet?
     A coat of paint
284. Why is the music teacher a good teacher?
     Because she is a sound instructor.
285. What state is round at both ends, and high in the middle?
     OHIO
286. Why is a star in the heavens like a window in the roof?
     Because it’s a sky-light.
287. What are the biggest kind of ants?
     Gi-ants
288. If Jack’s father is Joe’s son, who is Jack to Joe?
     Joe is his grandfather.
289. How is a wedding ring like eternity?
     It has no beginning and no end.
290. What were the colors of the wind and the waves in a storm?
     The wind blew (blue), and the waves rose.
291. What can pass before the sun without making a shadow?
     The wind
292. What are the most unsociable things in the world?
     Milestones, because you never see two of them together.
293. What dance do bakers prefer?
     A-bun-dance
294. Add 10 to nothing. What animal does it make?
     O X (ox)
295. If a boy wears his pants out, what will he do?
     Wear them in again.
296. What letter in the Dutch alphabet will name a titled lady?
     Dutch-S
297. What birds have 4 feet and yellow feathers?
     Two canaries
298. If you gave one friend 15 cents and another a dime, what time would it be?
     A quarter to two
299. How do we know they had fruit onboard the ark?
     Because the animals went in pairs (pears).
300. What comes after cheese?
     Mice!

You might find a few we missed on our All Pro Dad riddles page!