Looking to challenge and entertain young minds? These riddles for middle schoolers are the perfect way to spark curiosity, encourage critical thinking, and make learning fun!
Whether you’re a teacher looking for classroom brain teasers, a parent wanting to engage your kids, or a student who loves puzzles, this collection is packed with clever, funny, and tricky riddles.
From math challenges to Halloween-themed fun, these riddles will keep middle schoolers laughing, thinking, and asking for more.
Each riddle comes with an answer to ensure no one gets stuck for too long—perfect for boosting problem-solving skills in a playful way!
🤔 Riddles for Middle Schoolers with Answers
- What has hands but can’t clap? 🕰️ A clock
- I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old. What am I? 🕯️ A candle
- What has a head and a tail but no body? 💰 A coin
- The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I? 👣 Footsteps
- What gets wetter the more it dries? 🧺 A towel
- What belongs to you but others use it more? 🗣️ Your name
- What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? ⏳ The letter M
- What has one eye but can’t see? 🌪️ A needle
- What can you catch but not throw? 🤧 A cold
- What has a neck but no head? 👕 A shirt
- What has keys but can’t open locks? 🎹 A piano
- What kind of tree can you carry in your hand? 🌴 A palm
- What has many teeth but can’t bite? 🪥 A comb
- I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. What am I? 🌫️ An echo
- What has to be broken before you can use it? 🥚 An egg
- What runs but never walks? 💧 Water
- What has a bottom at the top? 🍑 Your legs
🧠 Hard Riddles for Middle Schoolers
- What disappears as soon as you say its name? 🤫 Silence
- You see a boat filled with people, yet there isn’t a single person on board. How? 🚤 All are married
- What can travel around the world while staying in one spot? ✉️ A stamp
- I have keys but open no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but not go outside. 💻 A keyboard
- What invention lets you look right through a wall? 🪟 A window
- A man shaves several times a day but still has a beard. How? 🧔 He’s a barber
- What has four fingers and a thumb but isn’t alive? 🧤 A glove
- What begins with T, ends with T, and has T in it? 🍵 A teapot
- A girl has as many brothers as sisters, but each brother has only half as many brothers as sisters. How many siblings are there? 👨👩👧👦 Four sisters and three brothers
- What comes down but never goes up? 🌧️ Rain
- What can fill a room but takes up no space? 💡 Light
- What word is spelled incorrectly in every dictionary? 📚 Incorrectly
- What has an eye but cannot see? 🪡 A needle
- I go in hard, come out soft, and you blow me hard. What am I? 🍬 Bubblegum
- What has cities, but no houses; forests, but no trees; and rivers, but no water? 🗺️ A map
- What starts and ends with an E, but has only one letter? 📩 An envelope
- What gets bigger the more you take away? 🕳️ A hole
😂 Funny Riddles for Middle Schoolers
- Why did the student eat his homework? 📚 Because the teacher said it was a piece of cake
- Why did the math book look sad? ➕ Because it had too many problems
- Why don’t skeletons fight each other? 💀 They don’t have the guts
- Why can’t your nose be 12 inches long? 👃 Because then it would be a foot
- What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? ❄️🧛 Frostbite
- What did one wall say to the other? 🧱 I’ll meet you at the corner
- Why are ghosts bad at lying? 👻 Because you can see right through them
- Why did the scarecrow win an award? 🌾 Because he was outstanding in his field
- What goes up and down but doesn’t move? 🧍 Stairs
- What building has the most stories? 📖 The library
- Why was the computer cold? 🧊 It left its Windows open
- What did the traffic light say to the car? 🚦 Don’t look! I’m changing!
- Why did the tomato turn red? 🍅 Because it saw the salad dressing
- What’s orange and sounds like a parrot? 🥕 A carrot
- Why can’t a nose be 12 inches long? 👃 Because it would be a foot
- What do you call a bear with no teeth? 🐻 A gummy bear
- What do you call cheese that isn’t yours? 🧀 Nacho cheese
😵 Riddles for Middle Schoolers Hard
- The more you take, the more you leave behind. What is it? 👣 Footsteps
- I’m not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air. What am I? 🔥 Fire
- I am always hungry and must be fed. The more I eat, the more I live. What am I? 🔥 Fire
- The more of me there is, the less you see. What am I? 🌑 Darkness
- What gets sharper the more you use it? 🧠 Your brain
- What has no beginning, end, or middle? 🟠 A doughnut
- What flies forever, rests never? ⏰ Time
- What’s full of holes but still holds water? 🧽 A sponge
- What comes in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? ⌛ M
- What begins and has no end, and is the key to everything? 📚 Knowledge
- What’s so fragile that saying its name breaks it? 🤐 Silence
- If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what are four and five? 🔟 Nine
- What runs but has no legs? 🏃♂️ Water
- What has a ring but no finger? ☎️ Telephone
- You see me once in June, twice in November, but not at all in May. What am I? ✉️ The letter E
- I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I? 😆 A joke
- What’s always in front of you but can’t be seen? 🛣️ The future
😄 Fun Riddles for Middle Schoolers
- What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs? 🕰️ A clock
- Why is six afraid of seven? ➗ Because seven eight nine
- What do you call a fish with no eyes? 🐟 Fsh
- What gets bigger when more is taken away? 🕳️ A hole
- What word contains 26 letters but only has three syllables? 📬 Alphabet
- What can be cracked, made, told, and played? 🤪 A joke
- What kind of band never plays music? 🎀 A rubber band
- What goes around a house but doesn’t move? 🧱 A fence
- If a brother, his sister, and their dog weren’t under an umbrella, why didn’t they get wet? ☂️ It wasn’t raining
- What starts with P, ends with E, and has thousands of letters? 📬 Post office
- How do you make the number 7 even? ➖ Remove the S
- What’s black, white, and red all over? 📰 A newspaper
- What can you hold in your right hand but never in your left? 🤚 Your left hand
- What word starts and ends with an E but only has one letter? ✉️ Envelope
- What runs but doesn’t walk, has a bed but never sleeps? 🌊 A river
- What do you call an alligator in a vest? 🐊 An investigator
- Why did the bicycle fall over? 🚲 It was two-tired
🌀 Tricky Riddles for Middle Schoolers
- What has four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night? 👶🧑🦰🧓 A human
- What can’t be put in a saucepan? 🖐️ Its lid
- If you drop a yellow hat in the Red Sea, what does it become? 🌊 Wet
- Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I? 🧱 Ton
- If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you don’t have me. 🤐 A secret
- What gets whiter the dirtier it gets? 🧼 A chalkboard
- What comes once in a year, twice in a week, and never in a day? 📅 The letter E
- If an electric train is moving north at 100mph and a wind is blowing west at 100mph, which way does the smoke blow? 🚂 No smoke—it’s electric
- What word starts with an E, ends with an E, but only has one letter? ✉️ Envelope
- What has 13 hearts but no other organs? ♠️ A deck of cards
- The more you take, the bigger I get. What am I? 🕳️ A hole
- What breaks yet never falls, and what falls yet never breaks? 🌅 Night and day
- What’s lighter than a feather but even the world’s strongest man can’t hold it long? 💨 Breath
- If you have one, you want to share it. Once you share it, you don’t have it. 🤐 A secret
- What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks? 🌊 A river
- Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks? ⚖️ Neither
- A cowboy rode into town on Friday. He stayed three nights and left on Friday. How? 🐴 His horse was named Friday
🏆 Best Riddles for Middle Schoolers
- What begins with an E and ends with an E but only contains one letter? ✉️ Envelope
- What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? ✂️ Short
- I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body but come alive with wind. 🌫️ An echo
- The more you take, the more you leave behind. 👣 Footsteps
- What can’t talk but will reply when spoken to? 🌄 An echo
- What invention lets you look right through a wall? 🪟 A window
- What has a head, a tail, but no body? 💰 A coin
- What gets wetter the more it dries? 🧺 A towel
- What begins with T, ends with T, and has T in it? 🍵 Teapot
- What’s full of holes but holds water? 🧽 A sponge
- If I have it, I don’t share it. If I share it, I don’t have it. 🤐 A secret
- What runs, never walks, has a bed, but never sleeps? 🌊 A river
- What gets bigger the more you take away? 🕳️ A hole
- What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, never in a thousand years? ⌛ The letter M
- What flies without wings? ⏳ Time
- What can fill a room but takes no space? 💡 Light
- What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it? 🤫 Silence
🎃 Halloween Riddles for Middle Schoolers
- What room do ghosts avoid? 🚪 The living room
- What’s a witch’s favorite subject in school? 📐 Spelling
- Why didn’t the skeleton go to the dance? 🦴 He had no body to go with
- What kind of music do mummies like? 🎶 Wrap music
- Why are vampires bad at baseball? 🧛 They’re afraid of bats
- What do you call a cleaning skeleton? 🧽 The grim sweeper
- Where does Dracula keep his money? 🏦 In a blood bank
- What’s a ghost’s favorite dessert? 🍨 I-scream
- Why did the zombie skip school? 🧟 He felt rotten
- What’s a monster’s favorite play? 🎭 Romeo and Ghouliet
- Why are ghosts such bad liars? 👻 You can see right through them
- What do you get when you cross a vampire and a snowman? ❄️🧛 Frostbite
- How do ghosts wash their hair? 🚿 With shamboo
- What kind of dog does Dracula have? 🐶 A bloodhound
- What do skeletons order at restaurants? 🍲 Spare ribs
- Why didn’t the mummy finish dinner? 🧻 He was too wrapped up
- Why did the ghost go to school? 🏫 To learn how to be transparent
➗ Math Riddles for Middle Schoolers
- I add five to nine and get two. What am I? 🕒 A clock
- If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what are four and five? 🔟 Nine
- What 3-digit number reads the same upside down and backward? 🔢 101
- If a hen and a half lays an egg and a half in a day and a half, how many eggs do 6 hens lay in 6 days? 🥚 24 eggs
- What number is odd but becomes even when you remove one letter? 🔢 Seven
- 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
- Using only addition, how do you add eight 8’s and get 1000? ➕ 888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1000
- When is 1500 plus 20 and 1600 plus 30 the same? 🕓 Military time (15:20 and 16:30)
- What comes after 8 and before 10 but isn’t 9? ➖ 8.5
- Which month has 28 days? 📆 All of them
- What’s half of two plus two? 🧮 Three
- I am a number you get when you multiply all the numbers on a phone keypad. What am I? 🔢 Zero
- What is 1 + 1, but not 2? 💍 A window (1 pane + 1 pane = a window)
- What’s the next number in the pattern: 1, 4, 9, 16, ? ➕ 25
- What do you get if you divide 30 by half and add 10? ➗ 70
- What 4-digit number multiplied by 4 equals the reverse of itself? 🔄 2178
- How can you make seven even? 🔤 Remove the S
👍 Good Riddles for Middle Schoolers
- What has to be broken before you can use it? 🥚 An egg
- What goes up but never comes down? 🎂 Your age
- I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old. 🕯️ A candle
- What gets sharper the more you use it? 🧠 A brain
- What comes down but never goes up? 🌧️ Rain
- What gets bigger when you take more away? 🕳️ A hole
- What begins and ends with an E but only contains one letter? ✉️ Envelope
- What never asks questions but is always answered? ☎️ A phone
- What kind of coat is always wet when you put it on? 🎨 A coat of paint
- What goes around the world but stays in a corner? ✉️ A stamp
- What word is spelled wrong in the dictionary? 📘 Wrong
- What can’t be used until it’s broken? 🥚 An egg
- What runs but doesn’t walk? 🌊 A river
- What has one eye but cannot see? 🪡 A needle
- What can you catch but not throw? 🤧 A cold
- What has an end but no beginning? 🛣️ A rope
- What has hands but can’t clap? 🕰️ A clock
Conclusion:
These riddles for middle schoolers offer the perfect mix of fun, learning, and challenge. Whether at home or in class, they spark curiosity, build problem-solving skills, and keep young minds happily engaged.
