Sense organs allow us to perceive the world around us. They provide the means to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel our environment. Riddles that play on the senses encourage us to think about perception in new ways. Here are 101 riddles about the senses to challenge your mind.
Riddles about Eyes and Seeing
Our eyes allow us to see. Here are riddles that relate to eyesight and vision:
1. What has an eye but cannot see?
Answer: A needle.
2. What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?
Answer: A river.
3. What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Answer: Your name.
4. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Answer: Footsteps.
5. What building has the most stories?
Answer: A library.
6. What is seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month?
Answer: The letter “R.”
7. What is full of holes but still holds water?
Answer: A sponge.
8. What has a head and a tail but no body?
Answer: A coin.
9. What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
Answer: A piano.
10. What has hands but can’t clap?
Answer: A clock.
11. What has a neck but no head?
Answer: A bottle.
12. What gets wet while drying?
Answer: A towel.
13. What goes up but never comes down?
Answer: Your age.
14. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
Answer: The letter M.
15. What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
Answer: The future.
16. What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
Answer: A promise.
17. What goes through towns and over hills but never moves?
Answer: A road.
18. What has words but never speaks?
Answer: A book.
19. What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive?
Answer: A glove.
20. What has a ring but no finger?
Answer: A telephone.
21. What has a face but no head?
Answer: A clock.
22. What gets wetter the more it dries?
Answer: A towel.
23. David’s father has three sons: Snap, Crackle, and what’s the name of the third son?
Answer: David.
24. What starts with a T, ends with a T, and has T in it?
Answer: A teapot.
25. What is cut on a table, but is never eaten?
Answer: A deck of cards.
26. What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Answer: Your name.
27. A doctor and a boy were fishing. The boy was the doctor’s son, but the doctor was not the boy’s father. Who was the doctor?
Answer: The boy’s mother.
28. What can you catch but not throw?
Answer: A cold.
29. What starts with an “e” and ends with an “e” but only has one letter?
Answer: An envelope.
30. What has four legs but can’t walk?
Answer: A table.
Riddles about Ears and Hearing
Our ears provide the sense of hearing. Here are riddles that involve sound:
31. What has a head and a tail but no body?
Answer: A coin.
32. What has a neck but no head?
Answer: A bottle.
33. What kind of room has no doors or windows?
Answer: A mushroom.
34. What goes up and down but does not move?
Answer: Stairs.
35. What has many teeth but can’t bite?
Answer: A comb.
36. What has hands but can’t clap?
Answer: A clock.
37. What has a face but no head?
Answer: A clock.
38. What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive?
Answer: A glove.
39. What has words but never speaks?
Answer: A book.
40. What is cut on a table but is never eaten?
Answer: A deck of cards.
41. What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Answer: Your name.
42. What building has the most stories?
Answer: A library.
43. What is seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month?
Answer: The letter R.
44. What has a head and a tail but no body?
Answer: A coin.
45. What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?
Answer: Silence.
46. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
Answer: The letter M.
47. What belongs to you but is used more by others?
Answer: Your name.
48. What goes through towns and hills but never moves?
Answer: A road.
49. What has four legs but can’t walk?
Answer: A table.
50. What has space inside but nothing on the outside?
Answer: A sugar cube.
Riddles about the Nose and Smelling
Our nose allows us to smell. Here are some riddles focused on the sense of smell:
51. What has an eye but cannot see?
Answer: A needle.
52. What has a neck but no head?
Answer: A bottle.
53. What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Answer: Your name.
54. What is full of holes but still holds water?
Answer: A sponge.
55. What is always coming but never arrives?
Answer: Tomorrow.
56. What gets wetter the more it dries?
Answer: A towel.
57. What has words but never speaks?
Answer: A book.
58. What has space inside but nothing on the outside?
Answer: A sugar cube.
59. What can be cracked, made, told and played?
Answer: A joke.
60. What goes all around the yard without moving?
Answer: A fence.
61. What has a ring but no finger?
Answer: A telephone.
62. What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive?
Answer: A glove.
63. What has a head and a tail but no body?
Answer: A coin.
64. What belongs to you but is used more by others?
Answer: Your name.
65. What is always coming but never arrives?
Answer: Tomorrow.
66. What month of the year has 28 days?
Answer: All of them.
67. What is full of holes but can still hold water?
Answer: A sponge.
68. What goes up and down but doesn’t move?
Answer: Stairs.
69. What starts with “e” and ends with “e” but only contains one letter?
Answer: An envelope.
70. What is always behind you but can’t be seen?
Answer: The past.
Riddles about the Tongue and Tasting
Our tongue provides the sense of taste. Here are riddles focused on taste:
71. What can you catch but not throw?
Answer: A cold.
72. What has a head and a tail but no body?
Answer: A coin.
73. What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
Answer: A piano.
74. What has words but never speaks?
Answer: A book.
75. What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Answer: Your name.
76. What building has the most stories?
Answer: A library.
77. What is cut on a table but is never eaten?
Answer: A deck of cards.
78. What is made of wood but can’t be sawed?
Answer: Sawdust.
79. What kind of room has no doors or windows?
Answer: A mushroom.
80. What month of the year has 28 days?
Answer: All of them.
81. What is always behind you but can’t be seen?
Answer: The past.
82. What can be cracked, made, told and played?
Answer: A joke.
83. What starts with an “e” and ends with an “e” but only has one letter?
Answer: An envelope.
84. What goes through towns and over hills but never moves?
Answer: A road.
85. What has four wheels and flies?
Answer: A garbage truck.
86. What has many teeth but can’t bite?
Answer: A comb.
87. What has a ring but no finger?
Answer: A telephone.
88. What has a head and a tail but no body?
Answer: A coin.
89. What gets wetter the more it dries?
Answer: A towel.
90. What has space inside but nothing on the outside?
Answer: A sugar cube.
Riddles about Skin and Touch
Our skin provides the sense of touch. Here are riddles focused on feeling:
91. What has a head and a tail but no body?
Answer: A coin.
92. What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Answer: Your name.
93. What goes up but never comes down?
Answer: Your age.
94. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment but never in a thousand years?
Answer: The letter M.
95. What can be cracked, made, told and played?
Answer: A joke.
96. What is always behind you but can’t be seen?
Answer: The past.
97. What can you break without ever picking up or touching?
Answer: A promise.
98. What has words but never speaks?
Answer: A book.
99. What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive?
Answer: A glove.
100. What has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?
Answer: A river.
101. What month of the year has 28 days?
Answer: All of them.
Conclusion
Riddles encourage us to think creatively and see things from different perspectives. Sense riddles highlight the link between our perceptions and the outside world. A good riddle about the senses challenges us to imagine visual details, listen for aural clues, sniff out connections, savor wordplay, and stay sensitive to tactile associations. Sense riddles remind us to open our eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin to the environment around us.
