Brain Teaser Puzzles

Brain Teaser Worksheets

Instructions: Choose the puzzles you want to add to your page (top area). Be sure to explore the different tabs to see different types of puzzles to add. Then add a title and directions (bottom area) and press the 'Build My Worksheet' button. If you have a favorite brain teaser that is not in our list, you can add it using the 'add my own' link below.

Tips:

Use the print preview function on the print prompt to view how the puzzles will fit on your printed page.
You can select different puzzle tabs or add your own problem - we are saving your selected problems, so they won't be lost.
The answer sheet will automatically print on a separate page - even if it doesn't look that way after generating the worksheet.

Show Riddles

Show Rebus

	Jimmy's mother had 4 children. She named the first Monday. Named the second Tuesday. The third is named Wednesday. What is the name of the fourth child? Show Answer
	Answer: Jimmy. "JIMMY'S MOTHER had 4 children"!

A man is the owner of a winery who recently passed away. In his will, he left 21 barrels (seven of which are filled with wine, seven of which are half full, and seven of which are empty) to his three sons. However, the wine and barrels must be split so that each son has the same number of full barrels, the same number of half-full barrels, and the same number of empty barrels. Note that there are no measuring devices handy. How can the barrels and wine be evenly divided?

Show Answer

	You have a 3 gallon jug and a 5 gallon jug. You need to measure out exactly 7 gallons of water. How can you do it? Show Answer
	Answer: Fill the 5 gallon jug, pour it into the 3 gallon jug until the 3 gallon is full, leaving 2 gallons in the 5 gallon jug. Now pour the 3 gallon jug out. Pour the remaining 2 gallons from the 5 gallon into the empty 3 gallon jug. Now fill the 5 gallon from the faucet. You now have exactly 7 gallons.

	Which is heavier? A pound of feathers, or a pound of rocks? Show Answer
	Answer: Neither. Both weigh a pound!

You are in a cookie factory, and need to make a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies. The recipe calls for exactly 4 cups of sugar. Problem is that you have two buckets. One is 5 cups, the other is 3 cups. Using these buckets, can you measure exactly 4 cups of sugar? How?

Show Answer

	I left my campsite and hiked south for 3 miles. Turned east and hiked for 3 miles. Then turned north and hiked for 3 miles, at which time I came upon a bear inside my tent eating my food! What color was the bear? Show Answer
	Answer: White. The only place you can hike 3 miles south, then east for 3 miles, then north for 3 miles and end up back at your starting point is the North Pole. There are only polar bears in the north pole, and they are white!

	What words are pronounced differently by merely capitalizing the first letter? Show Answer
	Answer: There are several, and there could be more: 1. job, Job 2. herb, Herb 3. polish, Polish

	In a year there are 12 months. 7 months have 31 days. How many months have 28 days? Show Answer
	Answer: They all do.

A man is on a game show. He is presented with two doors, one on the left, and one on the right. Behind one is 2 million dollars, and behind the other is a donkey. Choose the correct door to win the prize. There are also two men in front of the doors, and they know which door leads to the millions. One wears a black hat, the other wears a white hat.

The host explains that one of the men is a liar, and will always lie, and the other man will always tell the truth - but you don't know which is which.

You can ask only one of the men only one question. What is the question, and which man do you ask to ensure you win the money?

Show Answer

Three men are captured by cannibals in the jungle. The men are given one chance to escape with their lives. The men are lined up and bound to stakes such that one man can see the backs of the other two, the middle man can see the back of the front man, and the front man can't see anybody. The men are shown five hats, three of which are black and two of which are white. Then the men are blindfolded, and one of the five hats is placed on each man's head. The remaining two hats are hidden away. The blindfolds are removed. The men are told that if just one of the men can guess what hat he's wearing, they may all go free. Time passes. Finally, the front man, who can't see anyone, correctly guesses the color of his hat. What color was it, and how did he guess correctly?

Show Answer

	Please add the following numbers in your head. Start with 1000. Add 40 Add 1000 Add 30 Add 1000 Add 20 Add 1000 Add 10 Write down your answer. Show Answer
	Answer: Many will get 5000. But the actual answer is 4100!

	In baseball, how many outs are there in an inning? Show Answer
	Answer: 6. 3 for each team.

	Alex wants to go home but can't, because the man in the mask is waiting for him. Show Answer
	Answer: A baseball game is going on. The base-runner sees the catcher waiting at home plate with the ball, so decides to stay at third base to avoid being tagged out.

	I have 2 U.S. coins that total 55 cents. One of them is not a nickel. What are the 2 coins? Show Answer
	Answer: A fifty-cent piece, and a nickel. I said 'one is not a nickel', but the other one is!

	A man left home running. He ran a ways and then turned left, ran the same distance and turned left again, ran the same distance and turned left again. When he got home there were two masked men. Who were they? Show Answer
	Answer: The catcher and the umpire.

	A man is looking at a photograph of someone. His friend asks who it is. The man replies, "Brothers and sisters, I have none. But that man's father is my father's son." Who was in the photograph? Show Answer
	Answer: His son.

	Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world? Show Answer
	Answer: Mt. Everest. It was still the highest in the world - it just hadn't been discovered yet!

	Your dad tells you that he will pay you $6.00 an hour for the 6 seconds that you take to wash your hands before dinner. How much did you make for washing your hands? Show Answer
	Answer: 1 cent.

	You are on the bank of a river. You have to get a fox, a hen, and corn to the other site of the river. If left alone, the fox will eat the hen, the hen will also eat the corn if left alone. The boat is only big enough to take you and one other three to the other side. How do you get all 3 across intact? Show Answer
	Answer: First take the hen across. Leave the hen. Go back and get the fox. Take the fox to the other side. Leave the fox there, but take the hen with you back to get the corn. Leave the hen and take the corn to the other side. Drop the corn off with the fox, then go back to get the hen. Bring the hen to the other side. All 3 make it fully intact!

	Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Show Answer
	Answer: The egg. Dinosaurs laid eggs far before there were chickens!

An Arab sheik is old and must will his fortune to one of his two sons. He makes a proposition. His two sons will ride their camels in a race, and whichever camel crosses the finish line LAST will win the fortune for its owner. During the race, the two brothers wander aimlessly for days, neither willing to cross the finish line. In desperation, they ask a wise man for advice. He tells them something; then the brothers leap onto the camels and charge toward the finish line. What did the wise man say?

Show Answer

	Your sock drawer contains 24 white socks and 30 black socks. The lights in your room are off, so you cannot see the color of the socks. How many socks must you grab to ensure to have at least one matching pair? Show Answer
	Answer: Three. In the worst case, the first two socks you take out will consist of one black sock and one white sock. The next sock you take out is guaranteed to match one or the other.

	A plane crashes on the border of the U.S. and Canada. Where do they bury the survivors? Show Answer
	Answer: You don't bury the SURVIVORS!

	You are in a room that has 3 switches and a closed door. The switches control 3 light bulbs on the other side of the door. Once you open the door, you may never touch the switches again. How can you definitively tell which switch is connected to each of the light bulbs? Show Answer
	Answer: Turn on the first 2 switches. Leave them on for 5 minutes. Once 5 minutes has passed, turn off the second switch, leaving one switch on. Now go through the door. The light that is still on is connected to the first switch, whichever of the other two is warm to the touch is connected to the second switch. The bulb that is cold is connected to the switch that was never turned on!!

	What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never speaks, has a head but never weeps, and has a bed but never sleeps? Show Answer
	Answer: A river!

Crime Scene: A large wooden box was built with one door. The door was locked from the inside, and then nailed shut from the inside. The police break into the room. In the middle of the room there is a dead man hanging from the ceiling, his feet are 3 feet off the ground. The only other thing in the room is a hammer lying in a puddle of water. Can you explain what happened?

Show Answer

	You are a cyclist in a cross-country race. Just before the crossing finish line you overtake the person in second place! What place did you finish in? Show Answer
	Answer: Second Place. If you pass the person in second, you take second place, and they become third.

	What are the next 3 letters in the following sequence? J, F, M, A, M, J, J, A, __, __, __ Show Answer
	Answer: S, O, N The sequence is first letter of the months of the year. September, October and November are the next in the sequence.

A man lives on the fifteenth floor of an apartment building. Every morning he takes the elevator down to the lobby and leaves the building. In the evening, he gets into the elevator, and, if there is someone else in the elevator, or if it was raining that day, he goes back to his floor directly. Otherwise, he goes to the tenth floor and walks up five flights of stairs to his apartment.

Show Answer

	What is full of holes but can still hold water? Show Answer
	Answer: A sponge.

	I do not have any special powers, but I can predict the score of any football game before it begins. How can I do this? Show Answer
	Answer: I can predict the score BEFORE it begins. Well, the score before any football game is always zero to zero!

	You are driving a bus. At the first stop, 2 women get on. The second stop, 3 men get on and 1 woman gets off. Third stop, 3 kids and their mom get on, and a man gets off. The bus is grey, and it is raining outside. What color is the bus drivers hair? Show Answer
	Answer: Whatever color your hair is! Remember, you are the bus driver!

	You and two friends rent a hotel room that costs $30, so you put in $10 each. Later that night, the owner of the hotel realizes he has overcharged you so he sends the bellhop with $5. The bellhop steals $2 and returns $1 to each of you. So you have each now paid $9. $9 x 3 = $27. The bellhop stole $2. That equals $29 - what happened to the last dollar? Show Answer
	Answer: The accounting method is wrong. The $2 is actually a part of the $27, and shouldn't be added to it as stated in the problem.

Click here add your own puzzle(s) to the worsheet!

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Instructions:	Please try to solve the problems below. Let your mind go and use your creative thinking skills! Good Luck!
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