50 Clever Riddles for Middle Schoolers!

Middle schoolers love riddles. The age range for middle schoolers is perfect for starting to play with brain teasers because they can actually solve many of them without hearing them before. Riddles are a great ice breaker in a group setting whether you’re at a sleepover, on the bus, or in a classroom.

We’ve gathered 50 fresh riddles just right for middle school students. These riddles are clever, but don’t require super complex thinking. However, they aren’t that easy either! The best riddles are ones that make you think, and make you feel proud after figuring it out.

Best Riddles for Middle Schoolers

1. What has keys but can’t open locks?
   A piano.
2. What gets wetter as it dries?
   A towel.
3. What has a head, a tail, but no body?
   A coin.
4. What has hands but can’t clap?
   A clock.
5. What has a neck but no head?
   A bottle.
6. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
   The letter M.
7. What can you catch but not throw?
   A cold.
8. What belongs to you but is used more by others?
   Your name.
9. What has many teeth but can’t bite?
   A comb.
10. What goes up but never comes down?
    Your age.
11. What has one eye but can’t see?
    A needle.
12. What gets broken without being held?
    A promise.
13. What can travel around the world while staying in one spot?
    A stamp.
14. What word is spelled the same forwards and backwards?
    Racecar.
15. What has one head, one foot, and four legs?
    A bed.
16. What has a spine but no bones?
    A book.
17. What can fill a room but takes up no space?
    Light.
18. What invention lets you look right through a wall?
    A window.
19. What kind of tree fits in your hand?
    A palm.
20. What question can you never answer “yes” to?
    Are you asleep?
21. I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old. What am I?
    A candle.
22. What has cities with no people, rivers with no water, and forests with no trees?
    A map.
23. What is full of holes but still holds water?
    A sponge.
24. What kind of coat can only be put on when wet?
    Paint.
25. What goes through towns and over hills but never moves?
    A road.
26. Forward I am heavy but backward I am not. What am I?
    Ton.
27. What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks?
    A river.
28. What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?
    Silence.
29. What begins with T, ends with T, and has T inside?
    A teapot.
30. What comes down but never goes up?
    Rain.
31. I have branches but no fruit, trunk, or leaves. What am I?
    A bank.
32. What kind of room has no doors or windows?
    A mushroom.
33. What tastes better than it smells?
    Your tongue.
34. What goes up and down the stairs without moving?
    A carpet.
35. What runs but never tires?
    A refrigerator.
36. What gets bigger the more you take away?
    A hole.
37. What has four wheels and flies?
    A garbage truck.
38. What can you hold without touching it?
    Your breath.
39. What has a heart that doesn’t beat?
    An artichoke.
40. What building has the most stories?
    A library.
41. What kind of band never plays music?
    A rubber band.
42. What do you call a snowman in the summer?
    A puddle.
43. What disappears as soon as you say its name?
    Silence.
44. What has four fingers and a thumb but isn’t alive?
    A glove.
45. What can’t talk but will reply when spoken to?
    An echo.
46. What goes up a chimney down but can’t go down a chimney up?
    An umbrella.
47. What has keys but can’t open any locks?
    A keyboard.
48. What has a bed but never sleeps?
    A river.
49. What gets sharper the more you use it?
    Your brain.
50. What goes around the world but stays in one corner?
    A stamp.

How Middle Schoolers Can Get Better at Solving Riddles

Getting better at solving riddles takes practice. Start by reading riddles for middle schoolers out loud and breaking them into smaller parts. Look for keywords and think about alternative meanings. There are different types of riddles, and once you can identify types of riddles, solving them gets easier. Riddles are fun because they can be solved without memorization, like trivia. Any middle schooler can get better at solving riddles! Keep a list of your favorites and challenge friends and family to see who solves them fastest!

Positive Impact of Riddles on Teens

Solving riddles is a fun way for teens to boost their brainpower and build confidence. When teens work through a brain teaser, they sharpen their problem-solving skills. Riddles also improve reading comprehension by encouraging careful attention to each word and its various meanings.