62 Riddles For Teens (And Parents Hoping To Connect)

Conversing with teenagers isn’t always easy. Between the massive amounts of homework they have and the notoriously short attention span, it can be hard to connect. But if you can make your teen laugh, you’re probably on the right track to a lasting, respectful relationship. How do you make them laugh, though? Telling dad jokes might do the trick. Another great option could be jokes about their favorite things, like owls or shopping. Of course, you can also bond over our personal favorite parent-teen pastime: riddles for teens. Giving them a tough-ish brain buster will stop them in their tracks and make them think. You might even get the chance to talk it through with them. And, of course, you get to laugh at the end about how simple or silly the answer was — right there, in plain sight.

Not every riddle will have the same effect. Like all things involving teens, it’s hard to tell what will earn you an eye roll. Still, why not give it a go? Below are some riddles to get you started, perfect for tweens and teens. Give ’em something to think about… and something to laugh about.

1. If you are running in a race and you pass the person in second place, what place are you in?

Second place.

1. During which month, do people sleep the least?

February. It’s the shortest month, with the fewest nights.

1. What should you break before you use it?

An egg.

1. I have no doors, but I have keys. I have no rooms, but I have a space. You can enter, but you can never leave. What am I?

A keyboard.

1. What gets sharper the more you use it?

Your brain.

1. What can you hear but not touch or see?

Your voice.

1. I call the trees my home, yet I never go inside. If I ever fall off the tree, I will surely be dead. What am I?

Leaves.

1. I am the sweetest and most romantic fruit. What am I?

Honeydew.

1. What has a thumb but no fingers and isn’t alive?

A mitten.

1. What is full of holes but still holds water?

A sponge.

1. I have hands, yet I cannot shake your hand. I cannot give you a high five, and I have no fingers. What am I?

A clock.

1. Born in an instant, I tell all stories. I can be lost, but I never die. What am I?

Memories.

1. What do you find at the end of the line?

The letter “e.”

1. What is made of water, but if you put it into water will die?

Ice.

1. What word in the English language does the following:

The first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four letters signify greatness, while the entire world signifies a great woman? Heroine.

1. I live in the winter, but I die in the summer. My roots grow upward. What am I?

An icicle.

1. Name three consecutive days that aren’t the names of the days of the week.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

1. What can go up a chimney down but cannot go down a chimney up?

An umbrella.

1. What fruit is always sad?

The blueberry.

1. I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?

A candle.

1. People walk in and out of me. They push, and I follow. When they walk out on me, I close up. I wait for the next person to walk into my life and then I open up again. What am I?

An elevator.

1. What is lighter than a feather but can’t be held for a long time?

Your breath.

1. If an electric train is traveling south, which way is the smoke going?

It’s electric. There is no smoke!

1. They are many and one; they wave and they drum. You take them with you everywhere. What are they?

Your hands.

1. How can a man go eight days without sleep?

He sleeps at night.

1. You walk into a room with a match, a kerosene lamp, a candle, and a fireplace. Which do you light first?

The match.

1. What has a bottom at the top of them?

Your legs.

1. What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?

A towel.

1. What do teens say when they have trouble in their math class?

“I can’t even.”

1. The person who makes it does not need 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?

A coffin.

1. What kind of room has no doors or windows?

A mushroom.

1. What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?

Palm.

1. What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it?

Silence.

1. You can’t keep this until you have given it?

A promise.

1. What has 13 hearts but no other organs?

A deck of cards.

1. There was a greenhouse and inside the greenhouse, there was a white house. Inside the white house, there was a red house. Inside the red house, there were lots of babies. What is it?

A watermelon.

1. Two fathers and two sons went duck hunting. Each shot a duck, but they shot only three ducks in all. How come?

The hunters were a man, his son, and his grandson.

1. If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven’t got me. What am I?

A secret.

1. You can drop me from the tallest building, and I’ll be fine. But if you drop me in the water, I die. What am I?

Paper.

1. Alcohol makes me thrive and multiply, yet water will kill me. What am I?

Fire.

1. They come out at night without being called and are lost in the day without being stolen. What are they?

The stars.

1. People all over the world come again and again to see me. Most people spend years with me. I am able to make you smarter and wealthier too. What am I?

School.

1. A girl is sitting in a dark house at night. There aren’t any lamps or candles lit. Yet she is reading. How?

The woman is blind, and she is reading braille.

1. I am a term used to confirm. But take away my front and my face, I become known as human avarice. What am I?

Agreed.

1. Tuesday, Sam and Peter went to a restaurant to eat lunch. After eating lunch, they paid the bill. But Sam and Peter did not pay the bill, so who did?

Their friend, Tuesday.

1. All five sisters are busy. Ann is reading a book, Rose is cooking, Katy is playing chess, and Mary is doing the laundry. What is the fifth sister doing?

She’s playing chess, of course!

1. A boy and an engineer were fishing. The boy is the son of the engineer, but the engineer is not the father of the boy. Then who is the engineer?

The engineer is the boy’s mother.

1. There are five houses. A blue house, a pink house, a yellow house, a red house, and a green house. The blue house is made of blue bricks. The pink house is made of pink bricks. The yellow house is made of yellow bricks. The red house is made of red bricks. What is the green house made of?

Glass. It’s a greenhouse.

1. While a cat was outside, it began to rain. The cat couldn’t find any shelter and got completely soaked. However, not a single hair was wet. How could this be?

It was a hairless cat.

1. What did the troubled math book say to the calculator, puzzle, and dictionary?

“I have too many problems.”

1. Why can’t you hear a pterodactyl in the bathroom?

Because it has a silent pee.

1. The past, present, and future walked into a bar.

It was tense.

1. Where does Christmas come before Thanksgiving?

The dictionary.

1. How can one be 16 years old but celebrating their fourth birthday?

Someone born on February 29.

1. I run, it runs. I stop, it still runs. What is it?

A watch.

1. I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I don’t have a body but I come alive with wind. What am I?

An echo.

1. I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?

A map.

1. Why is Europe like a frying pan?

It has Greece on the bottom.

1. What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?

Short.

1. A girl fell off a 50-foot ladder but didn’t get hurt. How come?

She fell off the bottom rung.

1. Runs smooth, can hit hard or soft. Loves to fall, but cannot climb. What am I?

Rain.

1. What number has all its letters in alphabetical order when spelled out?

Forty.