Holes and openings are a fascinating source of riddles and brainteasers. They challenge us to think differently about familiar objects and situations. In this article, we have collected 75 riddles that play with the idea of holes, openings, and gaps. Some require logical thinking, others test your imagination, but all are designed to stretch your mind in new directions. See how many you can solve!
Riddles about Physical Holes and Openings
Let’s start with riddles centered around physical holes, openings, and gaps that you might encounter in everyday objects and places.
1. What has holes but still holds water?
A sponge. The many pores in a sponge allow it to absorb and retain water.
2. I have holes on the top and bottom. I have holes on my left and on my right. And I have holes in the middle, yet I still can hold water. What am I?
A sponge. The porous structure of a sponge, with holes throughout, allows it to hold a lot of water.
3. What has many holes but can still carry water?
A bucket. A bucket may have holes or openings for the handle or for pouring, but can still carry water.
4. What has holes that open and close?
Pupils. The black opening in the center of the eye can get larger or smaller to control the amount of light entering.
5. What has teeth but cannot bite?
A comb. Combs have teeth, or prongs, to catch and untangle hair.
6. What has a neck but no head?
A bottle. Bottles have a narrow neck that opens up to the body.
7. What gets wetter as it dries?
A towel. As a towel dries something, it absorbs more water and becomes wetter.
8. What has a ring but no finger?
A phone. Phones ring to alert you of incoming calls.
9. What has hands but cannot clap?
A clock. The hands on a clock move around to tell time.
10. What has a back but no front?
A knife. Knives have a blunt back edge and a sharp front edge.
11. What has four legs but cannot walk?
A table. A table has four legs to support the top surface.
12. What has legs but doesn’t walk?
A chair. Chairs have legs but do not move.
13. What has one eye but can’t see?
A needle. The eye of a needle is the hole the thread goes through.
14. What has one head, one foot and four legs?
A bed. A bed has a headboard, four legs, and you put your feet on it.
15. What has hands but can not hold anything?
A clock. Clock hands move around the clock face telling time.
16. Forward I’m heavy, but backwards I’m not. What am I?
The word “ton”. Forward it spells a weight, backwards it spells “not”.
17. What is full of holes but still holds water?
A sponge. A sponge is porous and full of holes to absorb water.
18. What is always coming but never arrives?
Tomorrow. Tomorrow is always the next day.
19. What can point in every direction but can’t reach the destination by itself?
Your finger. You can point anywhere with your finger but it can’t travel on its own.
20. What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
A piano. Pianos have many keys but don’t open anything.
21. What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock. The clock’s hands move around the face telling time but cannot clap.
22. What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive?
A glove. A glove is not a living thing but has five separate spaces like a hand.
23. What has a head and a tail but no body?
A coin. Coins have a “head” and “tail” side.
24. What has a neck but no head?
A bottle. The neck is the narrow part bottles use to pour liquid out.
25. What has banks with no money or rivers?
A pool table. Pool tables have banks for pockets but no actual money or water.
Riddles about Holes in Letters and Words
Now let’s look at some riddles that involve openings and gaps in letters and words.
26. What word has three consecutive double letters?
Bookkeeper. Bookkeeper has three sets of double letters in a row with “oo”, “kk”, and “ee”.
27. What word looks the same upside down and backwards?
Noon. Noon remains the same when flipped or reversed.
28. What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
Short. Add two letters and it becomes “shorter”.
29. What word has no vowels yet has five syllables?
Rhythm. Rhythm has no standard vowels but five syllables.
30. I’m tall when I’m young, short when I’m old. What am I?
A candle. Candles start out tall and burn down shorter.
31. What 10-letter word starts with gas?
Gasoline. Gasoline has 10 letters and starts with “gas”.
32. The more you take away, the larger I become. What am I?
A hole. Taking more material away enlarges a hole.
33. What 4-letter word can be written forward, backward or upside down, and can still be read from left to right?
Noon. Noon is a palindrome, reading the same forward and backward.
34. What 5-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
Short. Add two letters and short becomes “shorter”.
35. What 6-letter word has kst in the middle, in the beginning, and at the end?
Kiosk. Kiosk has “kst” in the middle, front (kist), and end (kosk).
36. What 3-letter word can have letters taken away and still be pronounced the same?
Eye. Take away the letters and “I” remains.
37. I’m dotted and silent, the reader I aid, For though I speak naught, knowledge I relay. What am I?
The letter ‘i’. The letter ‘i’ is dotted and silent but contains information.
38. What 4-letter word can be written forward, backward or upside down, and can still be read from left to right?
Noon. Noon reads the same forward, backward and upside down.
39. What 9-letter word remains a valid word as each letter is removed?
Starting. Starts with STARTING, remove letters one by one to get STARTIN, STARTIN, START, STAR, STA, ST, S.
40. The more there is, the less you see. What is it?
Darkness. More darkness makes it harder to see.
Riddles about Conceptual Holes and Gaps
These next riddles involve figurative holes, openings, and spaces.
41. What gets wetter the more it dries?
A towel. Towels absorb more water as they dry something.
42. What goes up but never comes down?
Your age. You age every year but don’t go back down.
43. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
The letter M. There is one M in minute, two in moment, none in thousand years.
44. What belongs to you but others use it more than you?
Your name. Others say your name more than you do.
45. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?
Footsteps. Each step leaves another print behind.
46. What goes up and down but does not move?
Stairs. Stairs allow you to walk up and down but stay stationary.
47. What can you catch but never throw?
A cold. You catch a cold from someone but can’t directly throw it to others.
48. What falls but never breaks?
Night or the temperature. Night falls each evening. The temperature can fall without breaking.
49. I make two people out of one. What am I?
A mirror. A mirror creates a reflection, making two images of one person.
50. What is broken every time it’s spoken?
Silence. Speaking breaks silence.
51. What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?
Silence. Saying the word “silence” makes a sound, breaking silence.
52. feed me and I live, give me drink and I die. What am I?
Fire. Fire needs fuel to burn and is put out by water.
53. I have cities but no houses, forests but no trees, water but no fish. What am I?
A map. Maps show locations but not actual objects.
54. 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”. The letter R is in the middle of both March and April.
55. The more there is, the less you see. What is it?
Darkness. Increasing darkness makes it harder to see.
56. What goes up but never comes down?
Your age. You age each year but never get younger.
57. What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
A stamp. Stamps can be mailed around the world from a corner on an envelope.
58. What belongs to you but is used more by others?
Your name. Others say your name more than you do.
59. I am not alive but I grow; I don’t have lungs but I need air; I don’t have a mouth but water kills me. What am I?
Fire. Fire needs air, is extinguished by water, and spreads.
60. The person who makes it has no need for it; the person who buys it has no use for it. The person who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?
A coffin. Made by a carpenter, bought by the bereaved, and used by the deceased.
Riddles about Humans and Animals
Let’s move on to some riddles involving the holes and gaps found on the human body and animals.
61. What has a face but no head?
A clock. Clocks have faces with hands but no actual head.
62. What has a head, a tail, but no body?
A coin. Coins have heads and tails on their sides.
63. What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock. Clock hands move around the face but can’t clap.
64. What has a neck but no head?
A bottle. The neck is the narrow part that opens to the body.
65. What has one eye but can’t see?
A needle. The eye of the needle is the hole for thread.
66. What has one foot and one head?
A hammer. Hammers have a hammer head and a foot to stabilize it.
67. What has one head, one foot and four legs?
A bed. Beds have a headboard, footboard, and four legs.
68. What kind of coat can be put on only when wet?
A coat of paint. Paint goes on wet and dries into a coat.
69. What has a thumb and four fingers but is not living?
A glove. Gloves have separate thumb and finger holes.
70. What has holes but still holds water?
A sponge. Holes help a sponge soak up water.
71. What has four fingers and a thumb, but is not living?
A glove. Gloves have spaces for fingers and thumbs to go.
72. What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock. The hands on a clock don’t clap together.
73. What has teeth but can’t bite?
A comb or zipper. They have tooth-like prongs but don’t bite.
74. What has a ring but no finger?
A phone. Phones ring to alert you to calls.
75. What has a neck but no head?
A shirt or bottle. Shirts and bottles have neck holes and openings.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed this collection of riddles centered around holes, openings, and gaps! Holes are a source of endless curiosity and wordplay. Let us know which riddles stumped you, or share any new ones involving holes, openings, and spaces that we should add to the list!
