Looking for the perfect way to entertain, challenge, and engage students? You’ve just found it! This collection of riddles for junior high is designed to spark creativity, boost problem-solving, and make learning fun for teens.
If you’re a teacher planning classroom activities, a parent hoping to keep your child’s mind sharp, or a student wanting to impress friends, these riddles are exactly what you need.
From funny and lighthearted brain teasers to clever and challenging puzzles, this guide ensures junior high students stay entertained while sharpening their critical thinking skills.
Funny Riddles for Junior High
- 😂 What has hands but can’t clap?
Answer: A clock - 😆 What comes down but never goes up?
Answer: Rain - 🤔 Why did the student eat his homework?
Answer: Because the teacher said it was a piece of cake - 😄 What gets wetter the more it dries?
Answer: A towel - 😜 What has an eye but cannot see?
Answer: A needle - 🐔 Why did the chicken join the band?
Answer: Because it had drumsticks - 🐟 What kind of fish only swims at night?
Answer: A starfish - 🧢 What kind of room has no doors or windows?
Answer: A mushroom - 🥚 What kind of egg is smart?
Answer: An egghead - 🐄 Why did the cow go to space?
Answer: To see the Milky Way
Easy Riddles for Junior High
- 🌞 What rises in the morning and sets at night?
Answer: The sun - 👟 What has a tongue but cannot talk?
Answer: A shoe - 🌍 What has no beginning, end, or middle?
Answer: A circle - 🖊️ The more you take away from me, the bigger I get. What am I?
Answer: A hole - 🥛 What has a neck but no head?
Answer: A bottle - 🚪 The more of me you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps - 🧊 I melt but I’m not ice cream. What am I?
Answer: Ice - 💡 I’m bright but not the sun. What am I?
Answer: A light bulb - 📚 What building has the most stories?
Answer: A library - 🔑 What has keys but can’t open locks?
Answer: A piano
Hard Riddles for Junior High
- 🧠 What has cities, but no houses; forests, but no trees; and rivers, but no water?
Answer: A map - 🔄 The more you take from me, the more I leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps - 🕒 Forward I’m heavy, but backward I’m not. What am I?
Answer: The word “ton” - 🌬️ The more of me you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Breath - 🌑 I’m always in front of you but can’t be seen. What am I?
Answer: The future - 🔥 Feed me and I live, but give me water and I die. What am I?
Answer: Fire - 🕷️ The more I’m taken, the more I grow. What am I?
Answer: A hole - 🧩 What has one eye but cannot see?
Answer: A needle - 🦵 What runs but never walks?
Answer: A river - 🎈 The more you fill me up, the lighter I become. What am I?
Answer: A balloon
Math Riddles for Junior High
- ➕ I am an odd number. Take away one letter, and I become even. What am I?
Answer: Seven - ✖️ Multiply me by any number and the answer will always be me. What am I?
Answer: Zero - ➗ I’m a three-digit number. My tens digit is five more than my ones digit, and my hundreds digit is eight less than my tens digit. What number am I?
Answer: 194 - ➕ If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what are four and five?
Answer: Nine - 🧮 What two numbers add up to 9 and multiply to 20?
Answer: 4 and 5 - ⏳ What goes up but never comes down?
Answer: Age - 📏 I’m long when I’m young, short when I’m old. What am I?
Answer: A pencil - 🔢 What three numbers give the same answer when added or multiplied?
Answer: 1, 2, 3 - 🥧 If you divide me, I remain the same. What am I?
Answer: A circle (pi) - 🧠 What begins with E, ends with E, but has only one letter?
Answer: An envelope
Science Riddles for Junior High
- ⚡ What gets sharper the more you use it?
Answer: Your brain - 🌍 I’m full of holes but can hold water. What am I?
Answer: A sponge - 💨 You can’t see me, but I’m always around you. What am I?
Answer: Air - 🔦 The more of me you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Shadows - 🌋 I erupt without warning but I’m not angry. What am I?
Answer: A volcano - 🐝 I make honey but I’m not sweet. What am I?
Answer: A bee - 🧲 What can attract metal but isn’t alive?
Answer: A magnet - 🦴 The more of me you take away, the stronger I become. What am I?
Answer: Muscles (when exercised) - 🔥 I move without legs, roar without a mouth, and can destroy everything. What am I?
Answer: Fire - 🪨 I am hard as rock, but melt with heat. What am I?
Answer: Ice
Tricky Riddles for Junior High
- 🐾 The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps - 📦 The more you put in me, the lighter I become. What am I?
Answer: A balloon - 🕵️ I’m always moving but never walk. What am I?
Answer: Time - 🧩 I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. What am I?
Answer: An echo - 🎭 The more you share me, the less I become. What am I?
Answer: A secret - 🏠 The more you take from me, the bigger I get. What am I?
Answer: A hole - 🎨 What has many colors but no shape?
Answer: A rainbow - 🧊 The more heat you give me, the faster I disappear. What am I?
Answer: Ice - 🪞 You can see me but I cannot see you. What am I?
Answer: A mirror - 🦉 The smarter you are, the more of me you’ll have. What am I?
Answer: Knowledge
Short Riddles for Junior High
- 🐕 What has four legs but can’t walk?
Answer: A chair - 🥕 What orange thing do bunnies love to eat?
Answer: A carrot - 🎤 The more you take me, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: A photo - 🧦 What gets holes the more you use it?
Answer: Socks - 🍌 What fruit is yellow and monkeys love?
Answer: A banana - 🐱 What animal purrs and chases mice?
Answer: A cat - 🐕 What animal barks and is man’s best friend?
Answer: A dog - 🐦 What animal can fly but isn’t an airplane?
Answer: A bird - 🌧️ What falls from the sky but isn’t sunshine?
Answer: Rain - 🥤 What do you drink that comes from cows?
Answer: Milk
Holiday Riddles for Junior High
- 🎃 I’m round, orange, and carved on Halloween. What am I?
Answer: A pumpkin - 🎅 I wear a red suit and deliver gifts. Who am I?
Answer: Santa Claus - 🦃 I’m eaten at Thanksgiving. What am I?
Answer: Turkey - 🎆 I light up the sky on New Year’s Eve. What am I?
Answer: Fireworks - 🍫 Kids collect me on Halloween. What am I?
Answer: Candy - 🧧 I’m red and bring luck in Chinese New Year. What am I?
Answer: A red envelope - ❤️ What day celebrates love?
Answer: Valentine’s Day - 🥚 Kids hunt me on Easter. What am I?
Answer: Easter eggs - 🎂 What do you blow out on your birthday?
Answer: Candles - 🥂 What do people clink together at New Year’s?
Answer: Glasses
Conclusion
Riddles are a fun and smart way to engage junior high students. From math and science to funny and tricky brain teasers, these riddles help sharpen critical thinking while keeping learning exciting.
Whether in classrooms, at home, or with friends, this collection ensures that students always have something entertaining and thought-provoking to share. With these riddles, fun and learning go hand in hand!
