Puzzlekin
English

Free printable

Printable riddle sheet — Ages 7–9

44 riddles, ready to print — with the answer key on its own page.

This sheet is made to print. Use your browser's Print option (Ctrl/Cmd + P) or save it as a PDF — the answer key prints on its own page so it's easy to keep separate.

Ages 7–9 — Riddle Rookies riddle sheet

44 riddles across 4 categories · write your guess on the line, then check the answer key at the end.

What Am I?

  1. 1. The faster you walk, the more of me you leave behind you on the ground, one after another. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  2. 2. I have a face and two hands, but no arms, legs, or fingers. I hang on the wall and help everyone know when it's time for lunch. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  3. 3. I appear in the sky after it rains, arching from one side to the other. I have seven colors, but I've never touched a drop of paint. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  4. 4. I start out whole, but you have to crack me open before breakfast can really begin. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  5. 5. I am full of holes, but I still help you get dinner ready — you use me to drain water off pasta or vegetables. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  6. 6. My whole job is drying other things off, but the more I do my job, the wetter I get. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  7. 7. I ride along on letters and travel to faraway places all over the world, but I always stay stuck in the same little corner. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  8. 8. I have a neck but no head, and a body but no arms or legs. Fill me up with your favorite drink. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  9. 9. I stand tall and bright when I'm young, but I get shorter and shorter the older I get, until I finally burn out. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  10. 10. I show you your own face without taking a photo. Some people say breaking me brings seven years of bad luck. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  11. 11. I have no weight, no shape, and no color, and when there's a lot of me around, you can barely see a thing — but flip on a light switch and I vanish instantly. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  12. 12. I follow you around outside all day long, but I vanish the moment the sun goes down or you step into the shade. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  13. 13. I have lots and lots of teeth, but I can't bite or chew anything. You drag me through your hair every morning to make it neat. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  14. 14. What is something you make with just your words, and can break without ever touching it, holding it, or even being in the same room as it?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

Wordplay

  1. 15. You can catch me from a friend who is sick, but you can't throw me back. Doctors help you get rid of me, but they hope they never catch me too. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  2. 16. Which month of the year has 28 days?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  3. 17. What kind of tree can you always carry around with you, right at the end of your arm?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  4. 18. I have one eye, but I cannot see anything with it. You use me for sewing, and thread goes through my eye instead of a pupil. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  5. 19. What kind of room has no doors and no windows, and you might even find slices of it on a pizza?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  6. 20. I have a bed, but I never sleep in it. I have a mouth, but I never eat with it. Fish swim through me every day. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  7. 21. What kind of coat can only be put on when it's wet?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  8. 22. What kind of band never plays a single note of music, but stretches around a stack of papers instead?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  9. 23. What has lots of black and white keys and can make beautiful music, but can't open a single lock or door?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  10. 24. Which building has the most stories, even though it's usually not the tallest one in town?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

Rhyming Riddles

  1. 25. I have two wheels, a seat, and a chain — pedal me down the street or the lane. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  2. 26. I've got eight legs, but I don't swim in the sea, and the house I build catches everything but me. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  3. 27. I ring in the morning to wake you from sleep — hit my snooze button for a few minutes to keep. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  4. 28. I've got bristles like a tiny broom, but I clean your mouth, and not your room. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  5. 29. I carry your books and hang on your back, to school and back home, I'm never off track. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  6. 30. They call me a pie, but there's no fruit in sight — I'm topped with melted cheese and sliced for a bite. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  7. 31. I have six strings that you strum with your hand, I make the music for a rock and roll band. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  8. 32. I blast off to space with a fiery light, astronauts ride me up into the night. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  9. 33. I'm black and white and waddle on snow, I can't fly at all, but I swim, don't you know. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  10. 34. I'm sweet and I'm frosted with candles on top, you make a wish, then blow until the flames stop. What am I?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

Math & Logic

  1. 35. There are 3 apples in a bowl on the table. You take 2 of them and put them in your bag. How many apples do you have?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  2. 36. Every coin in my pocket is either silver, gold, or copper. All of them are silver except two. All of them are gold except two. All of them are copper except two. How many coins are in my pocket?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  3. 37. Nour is waiting in the line for the water fountain. She is 3rd from the front of the line, and she is also 3rd from the back. How many children are in the line?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  4. 38. Six birds are sitting on a branch. Two of them decide to fly away to another tree. How many birds are still on the branch?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  5. 39. Tom is 8 years old, and his little sister is half his age. How old will his sister be when Tom is 16?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  6. 40. The big clock in the town square bongs once for every hour — 4 bongs at 4 o'clock, 7 bongs at 7 o'clock. It takes the clock 6 seconds to bong 4 o'clock. How long does it take to bong 7 o'clock?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  7. 41. A farmer's field has only ducks and cows in it. The farmer counts 5 heads and 14 legs. How many ducks and how many cows are in the field?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  8. 42. You have $5 and your little brother has $1. You are feeling generous, so you give him $2. Now who has more money — you or your brother?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  9. 43. A rooster lays an egg right on the very top of a barn roof. Which way does it roll — left or right?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

  10. 44. There are 12 fish in a tank. Half of them swim behind a big rock where nobody can see them. How many fish are in the tank now?

    My guess: ______________________________________________

Answer key — Ages 7–9

What Am I?

  1. 1. Footprints
  2. 2. A clock
  3. 3. A rainbow
  4. 4. An egg
  5. 5. A colander (a strainer)
  6. 6. A towel
  7. 7. A postage stamp
  8. 8. A bottle
  9. 9. A candle
  10. 10. A mirror
  11. 11. Darkness — Fog or night wouldn't disappear the instant a light turns on — darkness does.
  12. 12. Your shadow
  13. 13. A comb
  14. 14. A promise

Wordplay

  1. 15. A cold — As in "catching a cold" — the common illness, not a temperature.
  2. 16. Every month — Every month has at least 28 days — some just have more.
  3. 17. A palm tree — The palm of your hand.
  4. 18. A needle
  5. 19. A mushroom — Mush-ROOM.
  6. 20. A river — A riverbed and a river mouth.
  7. 21. A coat of paint
  8. 22. A rubber band
  9. 23. A piano
  10. 24. A library — Its "stories" are the books, not the floors.

Rhyming Riddles

  1. 25. A bicycle
  2. 26. A spider
  3. 27. An alarm clock
  4. 28. A toothbrush
  5. 29. A backpack
  6. 30. A pizza
  7. 31. A guitar
  8. 32. A rocket
  9. 33. A penguin
  10. 34. A birthday cake

Math & Logic

  1. 35. 2 — the two in your bag — Almost everyone answers 1, because 1 is what's left in the bowl. But nobody asked about the bowl: you took 2, so you have 2.
  2. 36. 3 — One silver coin, one gold coin, one copper coin. Only one of them is silver — so all of them are silver "except two," and the same story is true for the gold one and the copper one.
  3. 37. 5 — Two children in front of her, two behind her, and Nour herself: 2 + 2 + 1 = 5. The tempting answer is 3 + 3 = 6 — but that counts Nour twice, once from each end.
  4. 38. All six — Deciding to fly away isn't the same as flying away. Until those two actually push off the branch, all six birds are still sitting right there.
  5. 39. 12 — His sister is 4 today, which makes her exactly 4 years younger than Tom — and she will be 4 years younger than him forever. So when Tom is 16 she is 12, not 8. She is "half his age" only today.
  6. 40. 12 seconds — The seconds are in the gaps between the bongs, not in the bongs. Four bongs have only three gaps between them, so each gap is 6 ÷ 3 = 2 seconds. Seven bongs have six gaps: 6 × 2 = 12 seconds. (The tempting answer is 10 and a half — but that would mean a gap after the last bong, and there isn't one.)
  7. 41. 3 ducks and 2 cows — Five heads means five animals. Draw five animals and give each one 2 legs — that is only 10, so 4 legs are still spare. Each cow needs 2 legs more than a duck, so the spare 4 legs make 2 cows, and the other 3 are ducks. Check it: (3 × 2) + (2 × 4) = 14.
  8. 42. Neither — you each have exactly $3 — Handing over $2 doesn't only make him $2 richer, it makes you $2 poorer at the same moment — so the $4 gap between you closes twice as fast as you'd think. $5 − $2 = $3, and $1 + $2 = $3.
  9. 43. Neither — roosters don't lay eggs — Only hens lay eggs, so there is no egg to roll in the first place.
  10. 44. 12 — all of them — Six of them are hidden, but hiding behind a rock does not take a fish out of the tank. Read the question again: it asks how many are IN the tank, not how many you can see.

Back to the on-screen version