100 Awesome Water Riddles That Make a Splash [Free Riddle Cards]

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Ready to get washed away? These water riddles will have you riding the ultimate wave as you try to solve them on the first try. So grab your swimsuit, put on your thinking cap, and prepare to dive right in for some slippery fun and a challenging adventure.

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You know what is so great about water riddles? They are never dry! Get it?! Hopefully, this cheesy water joke didn’t scare you away because these water riddles are going to cause waves of laughter with your friends and family. So get ready to make a splash with these riddles.

Check out these other fun riddles like our Creepy Riddles and our Candle Riddles.

And don’t forget to get your free printable water riddle cards which are perfect for sending in lunchboxes or backpacks. My kids love collecting all the jokes and adding them to a ring clip so they can scroll through them whenever they want! We love to have joke cards on hand in the car to share on the ride to or from school. My older kids love it when I post them on the fridge or bathroom mirror and hide the answer to see who can solve it first. There are so many ways to use the joke cards, so don’t forget to grab your free set below!

Water Riddles

These water riddles are quick and easy to take to the beach, to the lake, or in the car!

Water riddle with blue half-full cup of water and green border.

I get in the shower, but when I get out I’m completely dry. How? I didn’t turn the shower on.
What can you swallow than can also swallow you? Water.
Why is there a halo in the water? There is an angelfish there!
It’s so weak that a little wind can move it. It’s so strong that you can cut it with a knife and leave no track. Water.
What is the healthiest kind of water? Well Water.
Without this, H2O would just be 2O. What is it? The answer is Hydrogen.
I am full of holes but I can still hold water. What am I? A sponge!
Why did the fraction jump into boiling water? It want to be reduced.
Why do watermelons have fancy weddings? Because they cantaloupe.
What kind of bath can you take without water? A sun bath.
I run forever, but do not move at all, I have no lungs or throat but a roaring call. Waterfall.
This is something you can find in a lake and in a stream. When frozen it turns to ice. When boiled it turns to steam. What is it? Water.
I am gentle enough to soothe your skin light enough to fly in the sky strong enough to crack rocks. What am I? Water.
Be quick and say the first thing that comes to your head. What do cows drink?Water.
What always runs, yet doesn’t walk, often murmurs but doesn’t talk. Has a bed, but doesn’t sleep, has a mouth but never eats. A River.
What is clear, but easily gets dirty. It is sometimes hard, but mostly not. Something can live in it, but if we do well die. It might not sound important, but yes it is, and without it there will be no life. What it is? Water.
I have five eyes but cannot see. What am I? The Mississippi River.
Two chemistry students walk into a bar. The first says, “I’ll order an H2O.”
The second then says, “I’ll order an H2O too.” Why did the second student die? “H2O too” sounds like “H2O2”, which is hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is a poison and can be deadly if its concentration in water is sufficiently high.
There are four brothers: One can run but never wearies; one can eat but never gets full; one of them can drink but never quenches its thirst, and one of them can sing any type of song. Who are these brothers? Water, fire, earth, and wind.
Wash it and it isn’t clean. Don’t wash it and then it’s clean. What I Am? Water.
It happens when something has been cut with H2O. What is it? Diluted.
A man is found dead in an empty room, with only a pool of water nearby. How did he die? He was stabbed with an icicle.
I am tested more frequently, I am virtually free, and research has shown samples of me to have lower rates of bacteria than bottled water samples. What am I? Canadian tap water.
If you had a 5-liter bowl and a 3-liter bowl, and unlimited access to water, how would you measure exactly 4 liters? Fill the 5-liter bowl and pour water into the 3-liter bowl, which you empty afterward. From the 5-liter bowl pour the 2 remaining liters into the 3-liter bowl. Refill the 5-liter bowl and fill in the 3-liter bowl (with 1 liter), so there stay the 4 required liters in the 5-liter bowl.
What is it that is not burnt in the fire, and cannot be drowned in the water? Ice.
What three letters mean “stiff water”? Ice.
A magician was boasting one day about how long he could hold his breath underwater. His record was 6 minutes. A kid that was listening said, “That’s nothing, I can stay underwater for 10 minutes using no type of equipment or air pockets!” The magician told the kid if he could do that, he’d give him $10,000. The kid did it and won the money. How did he do it? The kid filled a glass of water and held it over his head for 10 minutes.
Imagine you’re in a room full of water. There are no windows or doors. How are you going to get out? Stop imagining.
When will a net hold water? When the water is frozen.
What happens when you throw a yellow rock into a purple stream? A Splash.

Water riddle with pointing happy water drop and green border.

I can help you clean your shirt, and always fall but I’m never hurt. Look for me to beat the heat, I can run without any feet. What am I? Water.
You have two jugs, one that holds exactly 3 gallons, and one that fits exactly 5 gallons. Using just these two jugs and a fire hose, how can you measure out exactly 4 gallons of water? Fill the 5-gallon jug to the top, and then pour it into the 3-gallon jug until the 3-gallon jug is full. You now have 2 gallons remaining in the 5-gallon jug. Pour out the 3-gallon jug, and then pour the 2 gallons from 5-gallon jug into the 3-gallon jug. Finally, fill the 5-gallon jug to the top and pour it into the 3-gallon jug until it’s full. Since there was only space left for 1 more gallon in the 3-gallon jug, you now have exactly 4 gallons in the 5-gallon jug.
What has a head and mouth but cannot wear a hat? River.
As water, this much of me is needed to produce a one-liter bottle of water. What am I? 3 Litres.
What goes over the water and under the water, never touching the water? An egg inside a duck.
You are on a sailboat and you’re in the middle of the ocean… the boat has four boards on the side that are 2 feet wide each… if the water level rises 4 feet, which board will the water reach? It will be the same because the boat floats.
The water level in a reservoir is low but doubles daily. It takes 60 days to fill the reservoir. How long does it take for the reservoir to become half-full? 59 days. If the water level doubles every day, the reservoir on any given day was half the size of the day prior. If the reservoir is full on day 60, it was half full on day 59, not on day 30.
The first pour water, the second drinks water, and the third grows. A rain, the ground, an herb.
What breaks on the water, but never on the land? Wave.
A barrel of water weighs 60 pounds. What must you put in it for it to weigh 40 pounds? A hole.
If H2O is the formula for water, what is the formula for ice? H2O cubed.
When can a man walk on water? When it becomes ice.
How do you make Holy Water? Get regular water and boil the devil out of it.
What is the difference between puberty and a water bottle? The water bottle hit Justin Bieber first!
Where can you find an ocean with no water? On the map.
Which letter of the alphabet has the most water? C.
A man was outside taking a walk when it began to rain. He did not have an umbrella and he wasn’t wearing a hat. His clothes were soaked, yet not a single hair on his head got wet. How could this happen? He was Bald.
It drops from way up high. It is made of H2O.When the sun shines on it. There is a colorful bow. What is it? Rain.
It falls in drops or torrents but never gets hurt, what is it? Rain.
You might see it in the sky. But it is not the moon. It is what would make you wet if there was a monsoon. What is it? Rain.

What comes down and goes up again and again? What is that? Rain. It falls on the ground, evaporates, forms into clouds and falls as rain again.
What doesn’t get any wetter, no matter how much rain falls on it? Water.
I fill rivers, wells, and ponds. Sometimes I bring floods. Children like to get wet when I come. Who am I? Rain.
What does a rain cloud wear under his clothes? Thunderwear.
In addition to the sun, this is what enables plants to grow. It is a four-letter word and it comes before forest and bow. What is it? Rain.
I heard of an invading, vanquishing army sweeping across the land, liquid-quick; conquering everything, quelling resistance. With it came darkness, dimming the light. Humans hid in their houses, while outside spears pierced, shattering stone walls. Uncountable soldiers smashed into the ground, but each elicited life as he died. When the army had vanished, advancing northward, the land was green and growing, refreshed. What was it? Rainstorm.
What goes in the water red and comes out black? Iron.
What are both water and land, but neither either, and still always wet? Wetlands.
What fruit can you use to sip water? Straw-berry.
I makeup 70% of the Earth, but only 3% of me is fresh, 1 in 6 people don’t have enough of me, some claim it’s a human right, and others claim it for profit. What am I? Water.
You hear my song from quite afar. It’s in the pebbles ringing. I’m running down to reach the lake. I’m gay, I’m fond of singing. A streamlet.
You’ll probably use me for fights in the summer, if I leak in your house, call the plumber! What am I? Water.
If you go to Niagara Falls, you’ll see lots of this in motion. You also see it in a bath in a glass and in the ocean. What is it? Water.
When the tide is at its highest, how many rungs are underwater? None, the boat rises with the tide.
There is a 100-pound watermelon laying out in the sun. 99 percent of the watermelon’s weight is water. After laying out for a few hours 98 percent of the watermelon’s weight is water. How much water evaporated? 50 pounds. In the beginning, it is 99 pounds of water and 1 pound of other stuff. In the end, the 1 pound other stuff is 2 percent so the total weight is 50 pounds. 50 pounds – 1 pound of other stuff = 49 pounds of water. So 99 pounds – 49 pounds = 50 pounds of water lost.
What can run all day without getting hot? A cold water tap.
I am filled up, however, never go down. Spend a day with me and you won’t frown. Sometimes I’m cold, other times I am not so bad. When you jump out of me, you won’t be glad! What am I? Swimming Pool.
Given three bowls: 7, 4, and 3 liters capacity. Only the 7-liter is full. Pouring the water the fewest number of times, make the quantities of 2, 2, and 3 liters. Three numerals in each number stand for liters in each bowl:700 – 340 – 313 – 610 – 601 – 241 – 223 (pouring 6 times).
This gets filled with water. But it’s not a glass or jug. It’s in your kitchen though. At the bottom, there’s a plug. What is that? Sink.
If you’re swimming in the ocean and an alligator attacks you, what do you do? Nothing, there aren’t alligators in the ocean!

Water riddle with winking blue water drop giving a thumbs-up on a green border.

What kind of cup doesn’t hold water? A hiccup.
H2O is water and H2O2 is hydrogen peroxide. What is H2O4? Drinking
I am all that I am and all that you see, yet I’m nothing at all and from you I flee. Formed of distortion, perceptions awry, I play the horizon where always I lie. What am I? A mirage.
People in the U.S. purchase more than half a billion of me per week, enough to circle the globe 5 times over. It costs 2000 times more to purchase me than what I would be free. What am I? Bottled water.
Why did the basketball player bring a glass of water to gym class? So he could learn to dribble.
What do you get if you pour boiling hot water down a rabbit hole? Hot cross bunnies.
How do they drink water in the South? From Dixie cups.
Two brothers look into the water, but cannot meet each other! Who are they? The banks of а river.
When will water stop running downhill? When it reaches the bottom.
What is it that everyone can divide, but no one can see where it is divided? Water.
What does a stone become when in the water? Whetstone.
What do the letter T and an island have in common? They’re both in the middle of water.
I can be sparkling but I’m not a star. I can run but I don’t have any legs. I can fall but I don’t get hurt. I’m found in a bath but I’m not a rubber duck. I can help you clean but I’m not soap. What am I? Water.
I’m often running yet I have no legs. You need me but I don’t need you. What am I? Water.
To cross the water I’m the way. For water, I’m above I touch it not, and truth to say, I neither swim nor move. What am I? A bridge.
I can trap many different things and colors, ever-changing, not boring. Look closely and you may find yourself also caught in my trap. What am I? A pool of water.
I am a certain type of land mass. My climate can be tropical, or ice cold with water surrounding me. You might come to me for vacation. An example is Hawaii. What am I? Island.
I sometimes start on mountains as they can serve as my source. I’m a body of water, which can flow with lots of force. What am I? A river.
When water evaporates, water vapor forms. Then clouds form. When the water droplets get too heavy I fall from the clouds. What am I? Rain.
Through my wounds, water does run. I once held many, but now have none. What is it? A shipwreck.

Water riddle with happy blue water drop holding a glass of water on a green border.

I go solid in freezers. In rivers I can flow. My chemical formula is known as H2O. Who am I? Water.
There is a boat with a ladder attached to it, the ladder is eight feet tall. If the water rises four feet, how much of the ladder will be on top of the water? Eight feet, the ladder is attached to the boat.
What goes in the water black and comes out red? A lobster.
I am made of the stuff around me, but lighter than it. More of me is hidden than seen. What am I? An iceberg.
You might get to one by airplane or you might prefer to go by boat as its surrounded by water. But it’s not a castle with a moat. What is it? The beach.
What goes into the water green and is blue when it comes out? A cold frog.
Salty water everywhere but not sea in sight. What is it? Tears.
Whose bed is always wet? The river’s.
It flows, but cannot flow out. It runs, but cannot run out. A river.
What screams when put in a pot of boiling water? A lobster.

Do you know even more water riddles that you love? Share them in the comments so we can try and solve them!

Printable water riddles

Print your water riddles and have fun giggling with the entire family!

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You can Never Have Too Many Riddles! Complete List of Mind-Blowing Riddles!

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Michele Tripple

Michele Tripple is a renowned author and expert in the fields of parenting, relationships, and personal development. With her degree in marriage and family studies, her experience as a Family Life Educator, and over a decade of experience as a professional writer, Michele has authored books that provide practical advice and insights into improving family dynamics and personal growth. Her work is celebrated for its blend of research-driven information and relatable, real-world applications. Michele has been a keynote speaker at conferences and has contributed to numerous publications and media outlets, solidifying her reputation as an authoritative voice in her field and helping families build relationships.