Fall Riddles

Ten fun fall riddles for a class or a family; tap Show answer to check a guess.

Fall Riddles

  1. We are rubber to the knee and a size too big, so that you can grow into us. On a wet walk to school we squeak, and your socks stay dry. What are we?
  2. All summer I stood wide open, day and night. On the first cold evening somebody shuts me with a thump, and I stay shut until spring. What am I?
  3. I am a field where the crop grows on trees in neat rows. In fall, families visit me with baskets and ladders. What am I?
  4. I am a puzzle you walk around inside. My walls are taller than a grown-up, and they are made of plants. What am I?
  5. I am one of thousands on the tree, and I am the only one that is not green anymore. When you spot me, you know summer is ending. What am I?
  6. I am small and striped, and I carry seeds home in my cheeks like shopping bags. My pantry is under the ground. What am I?
  7. I am big and made of brown paper. I stand at the curb stuffed with leaves and wait for the truck. What am I?
  8. I stand in the field in old clothes and a hat, stuffed with straw. I am supposed to keep the birds away from the crop. What am I?
  9. I am a wind you hold in your hands. I push every leaf to the edge of the yard without touching one, and the whole street hears me do it. What am I?
  10. It takes an hour to build me and one second to wreck me. Run, jump, and you land in me with a crunch. What am I?

Next step A fall scavenger hunt

How it works

These fall riddles cover the whole season for a class or a family: the first weeks of school, leaves and trees, the harvest, and the mornings getting colder. Halloween and Thanksgiving are left out.

Read the full guide

September riddles first, then the season

Choose a set from the menu below the button. September and back to school suits the first weeks of class. Leaves and trees, Harvest and Getting colder follow the season from the first red leaf to the first frost.

In class or at home

Read a riddle to the room and take guesses. Show answer opens the answer with one line of why. Print puts the riddles on screen on a sheet, with the covered answers on a page of their own.

Tips
  • Read a riddle twice, slowly, before anyone answers.
  • Ask the class which clue gave the answer away.

Questions and answers

What is a good fall riddle for kids?

One with something they can see outside. It takes an hour to build me and one second to wreck me. Run, jump, and you land in me with a crunch. What am I? A pile of leaves.

What grades are these fall riddles for?

Kindergarten to about fifth grade, in the editors' judgment. Easy, under More filters in the menu, is for ages 5 to 8. Medium asks for a second thought.

Are the animal riddles true?

Yes. The geese, the chipmunk, the monarch butterfly, the maple seed and the harvest moon keep to the Wikipedia article on each, read on October 3, 2026. The seasons are those north of the equator.

More tools

Browse Word Games

All 60 riddles

September and back to school 15

  • I am a stick that never grew on a tree. My cap is lost by October, and after that I dry out and nothing I touch stays put. What am I? Answer: A glue stick. A glue stick dries out when its cap is left off.
  • I am bolted to the wall by the classroom door, and on test day there is a line for me. Turn my handle, and I leave a pile of curls. What am I? Answer: A pencil sharpener. A sharpener shaves the wood of a pencil into curls.
  • I am one day in September when day and night are just about the same length. After me, the nights are the longer ones. What day am I? Answer: The first day of fall. On the September equinox, day and night are very nearly equal.
  • I am one square in a wall of squares by the classroom door. Your coat, your lunch and one forgotten sweatshirt wait in me until it is time to go home. What am I? Answer: A cubby. A cubby is a child's own shelf and hook at school.
  • I am the month when school is new again and fall begins. I come right after August. What am I? Answer: September. Fall begins at the equinox on September 22 or 23.
  • I come once a year, when summer is over. You wear new shoes, meet a new teacher and find a new desk. What day am I? Answer: The first day of school. The school year starts with new shoes, a new teacher and a new seat.
  • I hang on the classroom wall. Every morning one child points to my next square, and the whole class says the day out loud. What am I? Answer: The calendar. A class calendar is read aloud one day at a time.
  • I ride home in your school bag and go back the next morning. I am work, but you do me at the kitchen table. What am I? Answer: Homework. Homework is school work done at home.
  • I sit on your desk on the first day and tell the teacher who you are, and I cannot say a word. What am I? Answer: A name tag. A name tag does the talking until the teacher knows the class.
  • My pages are clean in September, and my first page gets your very best handwriting. By page ten, not so much. What am I? Answer: A new notebook. A new notebook starts neat.
  • On my day you bring one thing from home in a paper bag and stand at the front. The class asks three questions, and you are the expert. What am I? Answer: Show and tell. At show and tell a child shows the class something from home and talks about it.
  • One morning in fall you wear a nice shirt, comb your hair and smile at a flash. Your grandma gets a copy. What day is it? Answer: Picture day. School pictures are taken early in the school year.
  • We are stiff and clean on the first day, and we squeak down the hall. By October we are comfy and scuffed. What are we? Answer: New shoes. New shoes squeak until they are worn in.
  • We come in a new box, sharp and all the same height. By spring some of us are stubs, and one of us is always missing. What are we? Answer: Crayons. A new box of crayons starts the year even and ends it worn down.
  • Which three letters end four months in a row, starting with September? Answer: B, E and R. September, October, November and December all end in ber.

Leaves and trees 15

  • I am a wind you hold in your hands. I push every leaf to the edge of the yard without touching one, and the whole street hears me do it. What am I? Answer: A leaf blower. A leaf blower moves leaves with a stream of air.
  • I am big and made of brown paper. I stand at the curb stuffed with leaves and wait for the truck. What am I? Answer: A leaf bag. Raked leaves are set out in paper bags.
  • I am one of thousands on the tree, and I am the only one that is not green anymore. When you spot me, you know summer is ending. What am I? Answer: The first leaf to turn. One early red or yellow leaf is the first sign of fall.
  • I am smooth and brown, with a point at one end. I drop from the oak and rattle down the roof in October, and the squirrels race for me. What am I? Answer: An acorn. An acorn is the nut of an oak tree.
  • I grow a little taller every year and never leave my spot. In fall I let thousands of small things go, and in spring I grow every one of them again. What am I? Answer: A tree. Many trees drop all their leaves in fall and grow new ones in spring.
  • I grow on a maple tree and I have a wing. When I fall, I spin round and round like a tiny helicopter. What am I? Answer: A maple seed. A maple seed has a wing that makes it spin as it falls.
  • I have a long handle and many teeth, and I never bite. I pull the leaves across the lawn into a heap. What am I? Answer: A rake. The prongs of a rake are called teeth.
  • I run along the edge of the roof to carry the rain away. In fall I fill up with leaves, and somebody climbs a ladder to clean me out. What am I? Answer: A rain gutter. Leaves from nearby trees collect in the gutters in fall.
  • I spend the summer making shade, as green as all my neighbors. In fall I turn red or gold, and you take the best of us home in your pocket. What am I? Answer: A leaf. Leaves change color in fall.
  • I was in the leaf all summer, hiding behind the green. When the green fades in fall, everyone can see me at last. What color am I? Answer: Yellow. The yellow in a leaf is there all summer and shows when the green fades.
  • I was the reddest one on the sidewalk, so you carried me home and shut me inside a heavy book. In January I am the only piece of fall left in the house. What am I? Answer: A pressed leaf. A leaf kept flat between the pages of a book dries and keeps its shape.
  • I wrap a tree from its roots to its twigs, rough under your hand. All summer the leaves get the attention, and you notice me once they are gone. What am I? Answer: Bark. Bark is the outer layer of a tree, easiest to see when the branches are bare.
  • It takes an hour to build me and one second to wreck me. Run, jump, and you land in me with a crunch. What am I? Answer: A pile of leaves. A raked pile is made for jumping in.
  • Put a leaf under a sheet of paper and rub a crayon over the top. I am the picture that appears, lines and all. What am I? Answer: A leaf rubbing. The crayon picks up the raised lines of the leaf.
  • You cannot see me or hold me, but you make me with every step on a path of dry leaves. What am I? Answer: A crunch. Dry leaves crunch underfoot.

Harvest 15

  • The apple, the pumpkin and the sunflower all hide me inside. Plant me in spring, and I am part of next fall's harvest. What am I? Answer: A seed. Fruits carry the seeds of the next plants.
  • I am a cousin of the pumpkin, small and bumpy, striped green and yellow. I sit in a bowl on the table and look like fall. What am I? Answer: A gourd. Small gourds are used as fall decorations.
  • I am a field where the crop grows on trees in neat rows. In fall, families visit me with baskets and ladders. What am I? Answer: An orchard. An orchard is a planting of fruit trees.
  • I am a puzzle you walk around inside. My walls are taller than a grown-up, and they are made of plants. What am I? Answer: A corn maze. A corn maze is a set of paths cut through a field of tall corn.
  • I am a slow, bumpy ride with no seats. You sit on straw, and a tractor does the pulling. What am I? Answer: A hayride. A hayride is a wagon ride on a bed of hay.
  • I am a table at the side of the road with apples, squash and jars of jam. The family that grew them takes your money. What am I? Answer: A farm stand. A farm stand sells what the farm has just picked.
  • I am dried grass tied in a block or rolled into a giant wheel. Children climb on me at the farm in fall. What am I? Answer: A hay bale. Hay is dried grass, pressed into bales.
  • I am made from apples squeezed in a press. I am brown and sweet, and I am good warm in a mug. What am I? Answer: Apple cider. Cider is the juice pressed from apples.
  • I am orange, I have ribs down my sides and no bones, and I am heavy to lift. A baker scoops me out, and I come back as pie. What am I? Answer: A pumpkin. A pumpkin is a big orange fruit with ribbed sides, and its flesh is baked into pie.
  • I am round and bright, and I am the full moon that comes closest to the first day of fall. My first name is what farmers do in autumn. What am I? Answer: The harvest moon. The harvest moon is the full moon nearest the September equinox.
  • I go to the apple trees empty and come back full. I have a handle and no hands. What am I? Answer: A basket. A basket carries the picked fruit.
  • I grow in an orchard, and I come in red, green and yellow. In fall you twist me off the branch, and one of me goes on the teacher's desk. What am I? Answer: An apple. Apples are picked in fall, and an apple for the teacher is an old custom.
  • I have two big wheels and two small ones. I pull the wagon across the field, and the farmer sits on top of me. What am I? Answer: A tractor. A tractor pulls wagons and farm tools.
  • I stand in the field in old clothes and a hat, stuffed with straw. I am supposed to keep the birds away from the crop. What am I? Answer: A scarecrow. A scarecrow is a figure shaped like a person and set in a field to keep birds off.
  • I wear a green husk and silky hair until suppertime. Then you hold me by both ends, turn me as you go, and get butter on your chin. What am I? Answer: Corn on the cob. An ear of corn grows inside a husk with silk at its tip, and it is eaten off the cob.

Getting colder 15

  • All summer I sat folded in the closet. Now I am back on the couch, and two people and a dog fit under me. What am I? Answer: A blanket. The blanket comes back out when the evenings cool.
  • All summer I stood wide open, day and night. On the first cold evening somebody shuts me with a thump, and I stay shut until spring. What am I? Answer: A window. Windows are left open in warm weather and closed when the cold comes.
  • I am a sweatshirt with one front pocket for both hands and a hat sewn onto my neck. What am I? Answer: A hoodie. A hoodie has a hood and a pouch pocket.
  • I am hot, and I come in a bowl with a spoon. On a cold day I warm you from the inside. What am I? Answer: Soup. Soup is a hot meal eaten with a spoon.
  • I am orange and black and lighter than a leaf. In fall I fly a very long way south to spend the winter where it is warm. What am I? Answer: A monarch butterfly. Monarch butterflies fly from the northern United States and Canada to Mexico and Florida in fall.
  • I am small and striped, and I carry seeds home in my cheeks like shopping bags. My pantry is under the ground. What am I? Answer: A chipmunk. A chipmunk carries food in its cheek pouches to its burrow and stores it for winter.
  • I am soft and woolly, and I go on over your head. I come out of the drawer when the mornings turn chilly. What am I? Answer: A sweater. A sweater is pulled on over the head for warmth.
  • I am tall and made of brick, and I stand on the roof. When the weather turns cold, smoke comes out of my top. What am I? Answer: A chimney. A chimney carries smoke from the fireplace.
  • I come on a cold, still night and I am gone by the middle of the morning. I paint the grass white, and I am not snow. What am I? Answer: Frost. Frost is a thin layer of ice that forms overnight.
  • I hang in the yard full of seeds. When the bugs and berries run out, the birds line up at me. What am I? Answer: A bird feeder. A feeder holds seed for wild birds.
  • I sleep in the basement all summer. On the first cold morning I wake up with a rumble, and warm air comes up through the floor. What am I? Answer: The furnace. A furnace heats the house and is switched on when the cold comes.
  • In September I am carried to school and left on the playground. By November nobody forgets me. What am I? Answer: A jacket. A jacket is easy to leave behind on a warm afternoon and hard to forget on a cold one.
  • In summer I stay up past your bedtime. In fall I go down a little earlier every evening, until I set before supper. What am I? Answer: The sun. After the first day of fall the nights are longer than the days.
  • We are rubber to the knee and a size too big, so that you can grow into us. On a wet walk to school we squeak, and your socks stay dry. What are we? Answer: Rain boots. Rubber boots keep water out.
  • We cross the sky in a big letter V and honk the whole way. When you hear us overhead, the season is changing. What are we? Answer: Geese. Canada geese fly in a V, and their calls overhead mark the change of season.
How this list was compiled

Written by the Game Night Generator editors on October 3, 2026: 60 riddles on the season of fall for children, in four sets of 15. September and back to school, Leaves and trees, Harvest and Getting colder are what-am-I riddles in the editors' own words; one form is traditional and belongs to nobody (teeth that never bite), and it is retold here. None was copied from a book or a list. The list has no Halloween and no Thanksgiving riddle. Riddles that state a fact about an animal, a plant, the moon or the calendar keep to the English Wikipedia article on the subject as it read on October 3, 2026 (en.wikipedia.org; text under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, restated in our words). The seasons are those north of the equator. The two levels are the editors' judgment: Easy for about ages 5 to 8, Medium for older children. Nobody tested the riddles with a class. This site is not connected with Wikipedia. Licence: own work