Fifth graders love to explore, think critically, and laugh—and riddles offer the perfect brain-boosting challenge!
Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or student, finding riddles that are fun yet age-appropriate can be tricky.
That’s why we’ve gathered the best riddles for 5th graders across subjects like math, science, and logic to spark curiosity and learning.
From tricky questions to seasonal fun and printable options, this collection will keep 5th-grade minds entertained and thinking.
Let’s dive into the world of wordplay and brainteasers designed just for them!
Riddles for 5th Graders
- 🧠 What has hands but can’t clap? A clock
- 🚪 The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I? Footsteps
- 🎩 I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old. What am I? A candle
- 🦷 What has teeth but can’t bite? A comb
- 🌬️ You can’t see me, but I’m always moving and can make you cold. What am I? The wind
- 🔑 What has one key but can’t open any doors? A piano
- 💧 What can fill a room but takes up no space? Light
- 📚 What has many pages but never speaks? A book
- 🪞I reflect but never speak. What am I? A mirror
- 🏠 The more you take out of me, the bigger I get. What am I? A hole
- 🥚 What has no beginning, end, or middle? A doughnut
- 🐓 I’m not alive, but I can grow. I don’t have lungs, but I need air. What am I? Fire
- 🚪 I go in hard, come out soft, and I never hurt. What am I? Chewing gum
- 🛏️ What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? The letter M
- 🌍 What travels the world while staying in one spot? A stamp
- 👂 What can be heard and caught but never seen? A cold
- 🕳️ What gets wetter the more it dries? A towel
Math Riddles for 5th Graders
- ➕ I am a three-digit number. My tens digit is five more than my ones digit. My hundreds digit is eight less than my tens digit. What number am I? 194
- ➗ If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what are four and five? Nine
- 🧮 What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? The letter M
- 🔢 I add five to nine and get two. The answer is correct, but how? It’s on a clock!
- 💸 If you multiply this number by any other number, the answer will always be the same. What number is it? Zero
- 🧠 How can you make 7 even? Remove the “s”!
- ⏳ What 3 numbers give the same answer when added and multiplied? 1, 2, 3
- 🧊 You see me once in June, twice in November, but not at all in May. What am I? The letter E
- 🎲 What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs? A clock
- 🥧 I’m round on the outside and hi in the middle. What am I? Ohio
- 🍬 What is full of holes but still holds a lot of weight? A net
- 🧱 A brick weighs 1 kg and half a brick. How much does the whole brick weigh? 2 kg
- 🎈 If you throw a red stone into the blue sea, what will it become? Wet
- 🧠 Which number becomes bigger if you turn it upside down? 6
- 🎨 A painter has 10 red, 10 blue, and 10 green pens. What’s the minimum he must pick to get at least two of the same color? 4
- 🚪 What two whole numbers are neither prime nor composite? 0 and 1
- 🔐 What three-digit number reads the same forwards and backward? 121
Riddles for 5th Graders Hard
- 🧊 What can run but never walks, has a bed but never sleeps, and has a mouth but never talks? A river
- 🕸️ I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I? An echo
- ⏰ What can’t be used until it’s broken? An egg
- 💭 You see a boat filled with people, yet there isn’t a single person on board. How is that possible? All are married
- 🔐 What comes once in a year, twice in a week, but never in a day? The letter E
- 🦉 What flies without wings and cries without eyes? A cloud
- 🔥 The more you take away from me, the bigger I get. What am I? A hole
- 🪞 I am not alive, but I grow. I don’t have eyes, but I will cry. What am I? A candle
- 🌌 Forward I am heavy, but backward I’m not. What am I? Ton
- 🦶 The more of me you take, the more you leave behind. What am I? Footsteps
- 🧊 I’m always in front of you but can’t be seen. What am I? The future
- 🌒 What gets bigger the more you take away? A hole
- 🧼 What has many holes but still holds water? A sponge
- 🐇 What can jump higher than a house? Anything, houses don’t jump!
- 📦 The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I? Footsteps
- 🎯 I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. What am I? A keyboard
- 🔊 What has a voice but no mouth? A radio
Hard Riddles for 5th Graders
- 💨 I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I? Breath
- 🪤 What has a head, a tail, is brown, and has no legs? A penny
- 📦 What has cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and rivers but no water? A map
- 🧱 What can fill a room but takes up no space? Light
- 🧩 What gets sharper the more you use it? Your brain
- 🐴 A cowboy rode into town on Friday. He stayed three days and left on Friday. How? His horse’s name is Friday
- 🔍 What comes down but never goes up? Rain
- 🧤 What can you catch but not throw? A cold
- 🧭 Which is heavier: a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers? Neither, both weigh the same
- 🔒 I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old. What am I? A candle
- 🧊 What can be cracked, made, told, and played? A joke
- 📅 What day of the week starts with T besides Tuesday? Thursday and Today
- 🚪 The more you take from me, the bigger I get. What am I? A hole
- 💎 What has one eye but can’t see? A needle
- 🌧️ What goes up when the rain comes down? An umbrella
- 📞 What has a ring but no finger? A telephone
- 🕳️ What kind of room has no doors or windows? A mushroom
Fun Riddles for 5th Graders
- 🧁 What kind of tree can you carry in your hand? A palm
- 🐶 What has four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening? A human
- 🎈 What has a neck but no head? A bottle
- 🪁 What has one eye but can’t see anything at all? A hurricane
- 🧦 What gets wetter as it dries? A towel
- 🚽 What has legs but doesn’t walk? A table
- 🎓 Why did the math book look sad? It had too many problems
- 📚 What has words but never speaks? A book
- 🧀 What kind of cheese is made backward? Edam
- 🍌 Why did the banana go to the doctor? Because it wasn’t peeling well
- 🌽 Why did the corn get embarrassed? Because it saw the salad dressing
- 🐸 What happens when frogs park illegally? They get toad
- 🍕 What do you call cheese that isn’t yours? Nacho cheese
- 🦕 What do you get when you cross a dinosaur and a pig? Jurassic Pork
- 🪙 Why can’t your nose be 12 inches long? Because then it would be a foot
- 🧤 What has fingers but isn’t alive? A glove
- 🪞What can you break without touching it? A promise
Riddles for 5th Graders with Answers
- 🧊 What is always in front of you but can’t be seen? The future
- 🧠 What has a head and a tail but no body? A coin
- 🎲 What has numbers on it but can’t count? A dice
- 🕶️ What has four eyes but can’t see? Mississippi
- 🔒 What goes up but never comes down? Your age
- 🍞 What has crust but isn’t eaten? Earth
- 🐓 What comes first, the chicken or the egg? The egg—it existed before chickens through evolution
- 🧤 What belongs to you but is used more by others? Your name
- 🪞 What has a reflection but no soul? A mirror
- 🐠 What kind of fish only swims at night? A starfish
- 🧵 What has a hole in the middle and still holds things? A button
- 🚀 What flies around the world but stays in one spot? A stamp
- 🧊 What kind of coat is best put on wet? A coat of paint
- 🧃 What has a bottom at the top? Your legs
- 🕳️ What do you find in the middle of nowhere? The letter H
- 🧊 What can you break but not hold? A secret
- 🐕 What has bark but no bite? A tree
Science Riddles for 5th Graders
- 🌡️ What has no weight but can still make you sweat? Heat
- 🌬️ I’m made of gases and surround Earth. What am I? The atmosphere
- 🔋 I store energy and help machines run. What am I? A battery
- 🔥 What rises, cools, and falls in a loop? Convection
- ⚡ I come before thunder but am never late. What am I? Lightning
- 🧪 What gets bigger the more you heat it? Molecules
- 🌫️ I’m a cloud at ground level. What am I? Fog
- 🌍 I spin without moving. What am I? The Earth
- 💡 What lights up but isn’t alive? A bulb
- 🧬 I carry information and look like a twisted ladder. What am I? DNA
- 🧲 I attract but don’t move. What am I? A magnet
- 🌡️ What has degrees but isn’t in school? A thermometer
- ☄️ I light up the sky but disappear fast. What am I? A shooting star
- 🐾 What leaves tracks but never moves? Fossils
- 🔭 I help you see faraway planets. What am I? A telescope
- 🌋 What erupts without warning? A volcano
- 🧠 What organ controls your body but can’t be touched? The brain
Logic Riddles for 5th Graders
- 🧠 A man pushes his car to a hotel and tells the owner he’s bankrupt. Why? He’s playing Monopoly
- 🛏️ What has to be broken before you can use it? An egg
- 🧦 Two people are born at the same moment but have different birthdays. How? Different time zones
- 🔒 What has keys but can’t open doors? A piano
- 🔢 What comes next? 1, 11, 21, 1211, 111221… Answer: 312211
- 🧱 Which weighs more: a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks? Neither
- 🕰️ A clock strikes 13. What time is it? Time to fix the clock
- 🧁 You have 3 cupcakes. You take away 2. How many do you have? Two
- 🚶 If you pass the person in second place, what position are you in? Second
- 👣 What has many steps but doesn’t walk? A staircase
- 🧪 How can you drop an egg on the floor without breaking it? The floor is hard to break!
- 🌉 The more you remove, the stronger I get. What am I? A bridge (of cards)
- 🐦 A rooster lays an egg on a roof. Which way does it roll? Roosters don’t lay eggs!
- 📅 What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? The letter M
- 🧠 You see me once in a second, twice in a decade, and never in a lifetime. What am I? The letter E
- 🚪 What is seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month? The letter R
- 🧊 What disappears as soon as you say its name? Silence
Christmas Riddles for 5th Graders
- 🎅 What do you call Santa when he stops moving? Santa Pause
- 🎄 What’s red, white, and gives presents? Santa Claus
- 🦌 What reindeer can be seen on Valentine’s Day? Cupid
- ❄️ What falls at the North Pole but never gets hurt? Snow
- 🎁 What do elves use to take notes in class? Their elf-abet
- 🍪 Why does Santa go down chimneys? Because it soots him
- 🎅 Where does Santa keep his money? In a snowbank
- 🧦 What’s at the end of Christmas? The letter S
- 🎁 What’s the best Christmas present? A broken drum—you just can’t beat it
- 🔔 What do you get if you cross a bell with a skunk? Jingle smells
- ⛄ What do snowmen eat for breakfast? Frosted Flakes
- 🛷 How does Santa travel safely in fog? With a mistle-toe
- 🎄 Why was the Christmas tree so bad at knitting? It dropped all its needles
- 🔴 What do you call Rudolph with no nose? No idea
- 📦 What do you call an elf who sings? A wrapper
- 🧤 Why did the mitten break up with the hat? Because it felt left out
- 🐧 What do penguins wear to the Christmas party? Ice caps
Fun Math Riddles for 5th Graders
- ➕ If 3 kids can eat 3 pizzas in 3 minutes, how many kids are needed to eat 6 pizzas in 6 minutes? Still 3
- 🧠 Add me to myself and multiply by 4, then divide me by 8 and you’ll have me again. What am I? Any number
- 🕰️ What is always on time and never late? A clock
- 🎯 You can hold me but not touch me. I add up fast but subtract when wrong. What am I? Your score
- 🔢 What 3 numbers have the same answer whether they’re added or multiplied? 1, 2, 3
- 💸 I’m green but not a leaf, I have a face but no head. What am I? Money
- 🧊 What happens when you divide a pumpkin by its diameter? Pumpkin π
- 🎈 What shape is always waiting to go up? A balloon
- 🧩 What’s a math teacher’s favorite type of tree? Geometry
- 📚 Why was the math book sad? Too many problems
- 🧠 What does one math book say to the other? I’ve got problems
- 🧮 I’m full of numbers but don’t count. What am I? A phone
- 🧊 What is cold, round, and makes math cool? Ice-π
- 🎲 Why did the student do multiplication on the floor? The teacher told him not to use tables
- 🥧 Why is Pi so lucky? It goes on forever
- 🧁 What’s the math teacher’s favorite dessert? Pi
- 🧠 How do you make 6 into an odd number? Remove the “S”
Conclusion:
These riddles for 5th graders boost logic, creativity, and learning in fun ways. Great for classrooms, home fun, or holiday challenges!
