100 Riddles for High School Students

Riddles might seem like little kid stuff, but solving riddles can boost problem solving skills and increase creativity. Your high school students will learn tidbits of trivia and little-known facts when they think about riddles, and they are also a good way to bring some fun and laughter into your classroom.

Here are 100 of the best thought-provoking riddles to share with your high school students.

Math Riddles

What is the similarity between 2+2=5 and your left hand? Neither are right.
There are two fathers and two sons in the car. How many people are in the car? Three – a grandfather, a father, and a son.
If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what are four and five? Nine.
There are three apples in a basket. If you take out two, how many do you have? The two you took.
If you have three, you have three. If you have two, you have two. If you have one, you have none. What am I? Choices.
A farmer walks toward his field, and he sees three frogs sitting on the shoulders of two rabbits. Three parrots and four mice ran toward him. How many pairs of legs are going toward the field? One – the farmer’s.
What is a teenager’s favorite phrase during math class? I can’t even.
A spider gets $36, a bee gets $27, and a duck gets $9. How much does a cat get? $18 – $4.50 for each leg.
How many eggs would you have after three weeks if you bought a rooster to lay eggs and anticipate getting three eggs every morning? None – roosters don’t lay eggs.
A third of it makes a half. What is it? One and a half.
What can you put between 7 and 8 so the result is greater than 7, but less than 8? A decimal.
Two mothers and two daughters spend the day baking, but only three people baked cakes. How is this possible? The bakers were a grandmother, her daughter, and her granddaughter.
Can you write down 8 8s to get to 1000? 888+88+8+8+8=1000.
How do you go from 98 to 720 using just one letter? Put an X between 90 and 8 – 90×8=720.
How do you make the number 7 even without addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division? Drop the S.
A family had five sons, and each of them had a sister. How many kids are in the family? Six – five sons and a sister that they all have in common.
What number do you get if you multiply all the numbers on a smartphone keypad? 0
What geometric shape is like a lost parrot? A polygon.

English Riddles

How many books can you pack in an empty backpack? One – after that it’s not empty.
What word is pronounced the same if you take away four of its letters? Queue
What begins with “e” but only has one letter? An envelope.
With shiny fangs, my bloodless bite will bring together what’s mostly white. What am I? A stapler.
I can be found in a book, but I’m not a word. What am I? A page number.
What five letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? Shorter.
What English word as three consecutive double letters? Bookkeeper.
I am the only English word with “uu” in it. What am I? Vacuum.
What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years? The letter “M.”
What word contains 26 letters, but only three syllables? Alphabet.
There is only one word that is spelled wrong in the dictionary. What is it? W-R-O-N-G.
This vehicle is spelled the same forward and backward. A racecar.
How many letters are in the alphabet? There are 11 letters in the word alphabet.
I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I? A joke.
What can you keep after giving it to someone? Your word.
I can be broken without being touched. What am I? A promise.
What belongs to you but is used more often by other people? Your name.

Science Riddles

Give it food and it will live but give it water and it will die. What is it? A fire.
What has a heart that doesn’t beat? An artichoke.
What did the scientist say when he found two atoms of helium? He he!
I am a vegetable that bugs stay away from. What am I? Squash.
I’m taken from a mine and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, but I am still used every day. What am I? A pencil.
How can a man go for eight days without sleeping? He sleeps at night.
What is lighter than air, but a strong man can’t hold it for more than a few minutes? Your breath.
What type of cheese is made backward? Edam.
You are in a dark room with a box of matches. Nearby are three things: a candle, an oil lamp, and a log of firewood. Which do you light first? The match.
What is the most uninteresting of all the periodic elements? Boron.
A girl fell off a 20-foot ladder, but didn’t get hurt. How is that possible? She was on the bottom rung of the ladder when she fell.
What animal is always at the baseball game? A bat.
What kind of cat should you never play cards with? A cheetah.
What two periodic elements, when combined, heal? Helium and aluminum – HE+AL.
What weighs more? A ton of concrete or a ton of feathers? They both weigh the same.
What has a foot on each side and one in the middle? A yardstick.
I am excellent to taste but horrible to smell. What am I? A tongue.
How much is the moon worth? $1 because it has four quarters.
How can you tell a tree is a dogwood tree? By its bark.
What is a tornado’s favorite game to play? Twister.
What runs faster, hot or cold? Hot because you can catch a cold.
What did one earthquake say to the other? It’s not my fault.
What can be measured but has no length, width, or height? Your temperature.
How did the astronaut serve dinner in outer space? On flying saucers.
Why didn’t the chemist stop reading his book about helium? He couldn’t put it down.
What chemical element hates being a follower? Lead.

History Riddles

What is always in front of you but can never be seen? The future.
If a plane crashes on the border of Canada and the United States, where are the survivors buried? Survivors don’t need to be buried.
There was a plane crash, and every single person died. Who survived? The couples.
What is always coming, but never arrives? Tomorrow.
What is in the middle of Paris? The letter R.
What can be found at the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, and beginning of every end? The letter E.
What is the laziest mountain in the world? Mt. Everest – Ever-rest.
What was the largest island in the world before Australia was discovered? It was still Australia.
Which months have 28 days? All of them.
What is in seasons, seconds, minutes, and centuries, but not in decades, years, or days? The letter N.
I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I? A map.
What is seen in the middle of March and April, but not at the beginning or end of either month? The letter R.
What has a head and a tail, but no body? A coin.

Music, P.E., Health, and Other Electives

I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. What am I? An echo.
What is so fragile that saying its name causes it to break? Silence.
If you are running a race and pass the person running second, which position are you in? Second place.
What runs around the house but doesn’t move? A fence.
Kate’s mother has three children: Snap, Crackle, and ___? Kate.
I am a color, but I’m also a food. What am I? Orange.
You throw away the outside, eat the inside, and then throw away the outside. What am I? Corn on the cob.
A stolen glance and an aching in a teen’s chest. What am I? Your first crush.
A doctor and a lawyer are in love with the same woman. The lawyer goes on a trip for a week and gives her seven apples. Why? An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Three different doctors said that Paul is their brother, yet Paul claims he has no brothers. Who is lying? Nobody is lying because the three doctors are Paul’s sisters.

Or Choose A Wild Card!

I can be seen in water, but I never get wet. What am I? Your reflection.
If you live in a one-story house made of red wood, what color are the stairs? What stairs?
What can you hold in your left hand, but not in your right hand? Your right hand.
What has four legs but can’t walk? A table.
I am your mother’s brother’s brother-in-law. Who am I? Your father.
The person who makes it sells it. The person who buys it never uses it, and person who uses it never knows when they are using it. What is it? A coffin.
An Uber driver is going the opposite way down a one-way street. He passes five policemen along his way, none of which stops him. Why not? The Uber driver was walking.
A cowboy rode into town on Friday, stayed for three days, and rode out on a Friday. How is this possible? His horse’s name is Friday.
What question can you never honestly answer yes to? Are you asleep?
Today it’s in, but tomorrow it’s out. What am I? A fashion trend.
There is a completely pink 1-story house. It has pink windows, pink walls, pink furniture, and pink doors. What color are the stairs? There are no stairs in a 1-story house.
Who can shave 25 times a day and still have a beard? A barber.
What loses its head in the morning and gets it back at night? A pillow.
How can you physically stand behind your father while he is standing behind you? You are standing back-to-back.
What breaks but never falls? Dawn.
What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away? Charcoal.

Infuse a bit of fun into your high school classroom with any of these riddles. They’ll challenge your students and hopefully make them laugh a bit, too!