Get ready for the ultimate collection of middle schooler riddles!
Whether you’re looking to test your brain, entertain friends, or just have fun solving puzzles, these riddles will do the trick.
Classic Brain Teasers for Middle Schoolers
Classic middle schooler riddles that stand the test of time!
Test your mind with these tricky puzzles and enjoy the thrill of solving them.
- I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have nobody, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?
Answer: An echo. - The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps. - I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
Answer: A candle. - What has keys but can’t open locks?
Answer: A piano. - I’m full of holes, yet I can hold water. What am I?
Answer: A sponge. - What can travel around the world while staying in the same spot?
Answer: A stamp. - What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
Answer: A promise. - What has to be broken before you can use it?
Answer: An egg. - What has a head, a tail, but no body?
Answer: A coin. - What gets wetter as it dries?
Answer: A towel. - The more of this there is, the less you see. What is it?
Answer: Darkness. - I have branches, but no fruit, trunk, or leaves. What am I?
Answer: A bank. - What’s full of holes but still holds a lot of weight?
Answer: A net. - What belongs to you, but other people use it more than you do?
Answer: Your name. - What can you catch but not throw?
Answer: A cold. - What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
Answer: The future. - I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?
Answer: Your breath. - What has an eye but can’t see?
Answer: A needle. - What invention lets you look right through a wall?
Answer: A window. - I’m taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from which I’m never released, and yet I’m used by almost every person. What am I?
Answer: Pencil lead. - What can fill a room but takes up no space?
Answer: Light. - The more you have of it, the less you see. What is it?
Answer: Fog. - What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, and a bed but never sleeps?
Answer: A river. - What has cities, but no houses; forests, but no trees; and rivers, but no water?
Answer: A map. - If you drop me I’m sure to crack, but give me a smile and I’ll always smile back. What am I?
Answer: A mirror. - What has legs but doesn’t walk?
Answer: A table. - I’m found in socks, scarves, and mittens; and often in the paws of playful kittens. What am I?
Answer: Yarn. - What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
Answer: The letter “M.” - What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
Answer: A keyboard. - What runs around the yard without moving?
Answer: A fence. - What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive?
Answer: A glove. - What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?
Answer: Silence. - What has ears but cannot hear?
Answer: Corn. - The more you take away, the bigger I become. What am I?
Answer: A hole. - What kind of coat can only be put on when wet?
Answer: A coat of paint. - What has a heart that doesn’t beat?
Answer: An artichoke. - What can you hold in your left hand but not in your right?
Answer: Your right elbow. - What has one eye but can’t see?
Answer: A needle. - What is always running but never gets tired?
Answer: A refrigerator. - What is made of water but can’t be seen?
Answer: A tear. - I’m lighter than air, but a hundred people can’t lift me. What am I?
Answer: A bubble. - I fly without wings, I cry without eyes. Wherever I go, darkness flies. What am I?
Answer: A cloud. - What comes down but never goes up?
Answer: Rain. - What has hands but can’t clap?
Answer: A clock.
Funny and Witty Middle School Riddles for a Good Laugh
Looking for some humor to go with the challenge? These witty riddles will make you laugh and think at the same time!
- Why did the math book look sad?
Answer: Because it had too many problems. - What’s orange and sounds like a parrot?
Answer: A carrot. - What did one wall say to the other wall?
Answer: I’ll meet you at the corner! - Why did the golfer bring two pairs of pants?
Answer: In case he got a hole in one. - Why can’t your nose be 12 inches long?
Answer: Because then it would be a foot. - What gets smaller when you turn it upside down?
Answer: The number nine. - What kind of tree fits in your hand?
Answer: A palm tree. - Why did the scarecrow win an award?
Answer: Because he was outstanding in his field. - Why don’t skeletons fight each other?
Answer: They don’t have the guts. - Why did the bicycle fall over?
Answer: Because it was two-tired. - What did one hat say to the other?
Answer: You stay here, I’ll go on ahead. - Why couldn’t the leopard play hide and seek?
Answer: Because he was always spotted. - What did one ocean say to the other ocean?
Answer: Nothing, they just waved. - Why did the student eat his homework?
Answer: Because the teacher told him it was a piece of cake. - What building has the most stories?
Answer: The library. - Why don’t eggs tell jokes?
Answer: They might crack up. - Why was the math book so unhappy?
Answer: It had too many problems. - How does a scientist freshen her breath?
Answer: With experi-mints. - Why couldn’t the pony sing a lullaby?
Answer: She was a little hoarse. - Why are frogs so happy?
Answer: Because they eat whatever bugs them. - What goes up and down but never moves?
Answer: A staircase. - What did the big flower say to the little flower?
Answer: Hi, bud! - Why did the tomato turn red?
Answer: Because it saw the salad dressing. - How do you organize a space party?
Answer: You planet. - What’s a computer’s favorite snack?
Answer: Computer chips. - Why did the banana go to the doctor?
Answer: It wasn’t peeling well. - How do you make a tissue dance?
Answer: Put a little boogie in it. - What kind of room doesn’t have doors?
Answer: A mushroom. - Why was the broom late?
Answer: It swept in late. - Why did the chicken cross the playground?
Answer: To get to the other slide. - Why don’t oysters share their pearls?
Answer: Because they’re shellfish. - What’s a vampire’s favorite fruit?
Answer: A blood orange. - What do you call fake spaghetti?
Answer: An impasta. - How does a cucumber become a pickle?
Answer: It goes through a jarring experience. - Why don’t you ever see elephants hiding in trees?
Answer: Because they’re so good at it. - What’s brown and sticky?
Answer: A stick. - Why are ghosts bad at lying?
Answer: You can see right through them. - What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
Answer: Frostbite. - Why don’t dinosaurs drive cars?
Answer: Because they’re extinct. - What do you call a bear with no teeth?
Answer: A gummy bear. - Why did the computer go to the doctor?
Answer: It had a virus. - What’s blue and not heavy?
Answer: Light blue. - Why was the sand wet?
Answer: Because the sea weed. - Why don’t koalas count as bears?
Answer: They don’t have the koalafications. - How do you throw a space party?
Answer: You planet.
Mystery and Puzzle Riddles for Deep Thinkers
For those who enjoy solving mysteries and love a good brain puzzle, these middle school riddles will keep you thinking.
- The person who makes it has no need for it. The person who buys it has no use for it. The person who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?
Answer: A coffin. - The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps. - What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
Answer: Short. - I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but you can’t go inside. What am I?
Answer: A keyboard. - What has one eye but cannot see?
Answer: A needle. - You see me once in June, twice in November, and not at all in May. What am I?
Answer: The letter “E.” - If two’s company, and three’s a crowd, what are four and five?
Answer: Nine. - What can you keep after giving it to someone?
Answer: Your word. - I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
Answer: A candle. - What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
Answer: The letter M.
Riddles with a Twist
These riddles feature unexpected twists that make the answers even more surprising.
- I’m not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air; I don’t have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
Answer: Fire. - What has a neck but no head?
Answer: A bottle. - I’m not a bird, a plane, or a superhero, yet I can fly without wings. What am I?
Answer: Time. - What gets sharper the more you use it?
Answer: Your brain. - I have no life, but I can die. What am I?
Answer: A battery. - What goes up but never comes down?
Answer: Your age. - The more you have, the less you see. What am I?
Answer: Darkness. - What has many teeth but cannot bite?
Answer: A comb. - What comes once in a second, twice in a decade, but never in a century?
Answer: The letter “E.” - I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?
Answer: A map. - What runs, but never walks? Has a bed, but never sleeps? Has a mouth, but never talks?
Answer: A river. - The more you take away from me, the bigger I become. What am I?
Answer: A hole. - What can go up a chimney down, but not down a chimney up?
Answer: An umbrella. - I have hands but cannot hold anything. What am I?
Answer: A clock. - I’m white when I’m dirty and black when I’m clean. What am I?
Answer: A chalkboard. - What is full of holes but still holds water?
Answer: A sponge. - What is always in front of you but can never be seen?
Answer: The future. - What is so delicate that even saying its name will break it?
Answer: Silence. - What gets broken without being held?
Answer: A promise. - What starts with a T, ends with a T, and has T in it?
Answer: A teapot. - If two is company and three is a crowd, what is four and five?
Answer: Nine. - What has one eye but still can’t see?
Answer: A needle. - I have keys, but no locks. I have space, but no room. You can enter, but can’t go outside. What am I?
Answer: A keyboard. - The more of me you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps. - What comes down but never goes up?
Answer: Rain. - I am an odd number. Take away one letter and I become even. What number am I?
Answer: Seven. - What has four wheels and flies?
Answer: A garbage truck. - What has 88 keys but cannot open a single door?
Answer: A piano. - I have a head, a tail, but no body. What am I?
Answer: A coin. - What word begins and ends with an E, but only has one letter?
Answer: An envelope. - What has an eye but can’t see?
Answer: A needle. - I am so simple that I can only point, yet I guide men all over the world. What am I?
Answer: A compass. - The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps. - What goes around the world but stays in one corner?
Answer: A stamp. - What has hands but can’t clap?
Answer: A clock. - I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
Answer: A candle. - What can you keep after giving it to someone?
Answer: Your word. - I have two hands, but I cannot scratch myself. What am I?
Answer: A clock. - What is heavy going forward but not going backward?
Answer: A ton. - What gets wetter as it dries?
Answer: A towel. - What do you throw out when you want to use it, but take in when you don’t want to use it?
Answer: An anchor. - What has a face and two hands, but no arms or legs?
Answer: A clock. - What begins with an “e” but only has one letter?
Answer: An envelope. - What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Answer: Your name. - I’m taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from which I’m never released, and yet I’m used by almost every person. What am I?
Answer: Pencil lead. - What has a head, a tail, but no body?
Answer: A coin. - What gets bigger the more you take away?
Answer: A hole. - What has legs but doesn’t walk?
Answer: A table. - I am full of keys but cannot open a single lock. What am I?
Answer: A piano. - What has a neck but no head?
Answer: A bottle. - What word is spelled incorrectly in every dictionary?
Answer: Incorrectly. - I have keys but open no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but you can’t go outside. What am I?
Answer: A keyboard. - What has many teeth but can’t bite?
Answer: A comb. - I’m light as a feather, yet the world’s strongest person can’t hold me for more than five minutes. What am I?
Answer: Your breath. - What has ears but can’t hear?
Answer: Corn. - The more you take away, the bigger I get. What am I?
Answer: A hole. - What goes up but never comes down?
Answer: Your age. - What is always in front of you but can never be seen?
Answer: The future. - I am not alive, but I can grow. I don’t have lungs, but I need air. What am I?
Answer: Fire. - What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
Answer: The letter “M.” - What has a thumb and four fingers, but is not alive?
Answer: A glove. - What has to be broken before you can use it?
Answer: An egg. - What has 13 hearts but no organs?
Answer: A deck of cards. - What has cities, but no houses? Forests, but no trees? Rivers, but no water?
Answer: A map. - What can travel around the world while staying in the same spot?
Answer: A stamp. - What has a head, a tail, but no body?
Answer: A coin. - What has many teeth but can’t bite?
Answer: A comb. - What gets bigger the more you take away from it?
Answer: A hole. - What runs, but never walks? Has a bed, but never sleeps? Has a mouth, but never talks?
Answer: A river. - I’m full of holes but can still hold water. What am I?
Answer: A sponge. - What has one eye but can’t see?
Answer: A needle. - I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have nobody, but I come alive with wind. What am I?
Answer: An echo. - What has four fingers and a thumb, but isn’t alive?
Answer: A glove. - What can fill a room but takes up no space?
Answer: Light. - The more you have of it, the less you see. What is it?
Answer: Darkness. - What can you catch but not throw?
Answer: A cold. - What can run but never walks?
Answer: A river. - What has a head, a tail, but no body?
Answer: A coin. - What is always running but never gets tired?
Answer: A refrigerator. - I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?
Answer: Your breath. - What belongs to you but is used more by others?
Answer: Your name. - What has 88 keys but can’t open a single door?
Answer: A piano. - I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
Answer: A candle. - What has a neck but no head?
Answer: A bottle. - What can be cracked, made, told, and played?
Answer: A joke. - What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
Answer: The future. - I’m so simple, that I can only point; yet I guide men all over the world. What am I?
Answer: A compass. - What has a bottom at the top?
Answer: Your legs. - What do you call a bear with no teeth?
Answer: A gummy bear. - The more you take away, the more I become. What am I?
Answer: A hole.