Riddles for kids
Ready for a guessing game? These ten riddles for kids come from documented English-language collections of children’s folklore and nursery rhymes. Read each clue, make a guess, then open the answer to see how you did.
Short riddles with answers
Open each answer when you are ready.
1. Teeth without a bite
What has teeth and cannot bite?
Reveal the answer
A comb.
2. Four legs
What has four legs and cannot walk?
Reveal the answer
A bed.
3. A card trick
What is put on a table, cut, but never eaten?
Reveal the answer
A pack of cards.
4. Right under your eyes
What is it that every man overlooks?
Reveal the answer
His nose.
5. A neck without a throat
What has a neck but cannot swallow?
Reveal the answer
A bottle.
6. Five fingers
What has fingers but cannot use them?
Reveal the answer
A glove.
7. A tiny eye
What has an eye but cannot see?
Reveal the answer
A needle.
8. Three feet
What has three feet and cannot walk?
Reveal the answer
A yard rule: a ruler measuring three feet.
9. White horses
Thirty white horses upon a red hill,
Now they tramp, now they champ, now they stand still.
Reveal the answer
Teeth and gums. The horses are teeth and the red hill is the gum.
10. High in the sky
Higher than a house, higher than a tree.
Oh! whatever can that be?
Reveal the answer
A star.
How to play the guessing game
Read, guess and check
Take turns reading the clues aloud. Give everyone time to guess before revealing the answer, then explain which part of the wording helped. You can play in pairs, with your family or as a classroom activity.
Look for a second meaning
In these riddles, teeth, fingers and an eye can belong to everyday objects. The rhyme about white horses describes teeth rather than real animals. The old-fashioned yard rule measures three feet.
More word games for kids
Try our tongue twisters, rhyming couplets and jokes.