Free printable brain teasers with answers
Updated 17/06/23
These puzzle activities are a heap of fun and are suitable for late primary school kids, middle school, and adults. The printable brain teasers are in different forms on each worksheet. There are riddles, picture puzzles, math problems, word puzzles, and logic problems to solve.
Apart from the memory puzzle, the printable brain teasers with answers have six brain teasers on each sheet. This is useful in that you can also cut them out if you want to use them as cards in classroom games.
They work well as group activities where different students can bring their own ideas and perspectives. If you find your students are totally baffled by a puzzle, don’t be afraid to give them some subtle hints.
All the answers are at the bottom of this page. Scroll down to check if you are correct or if you are completely stumped by one. So far there are 49 printable brain teasers but more will be added in the future.
If you are looking for more brain teasers make sure to check out the free printable rebus puzzles.
Solutions for the printable brain teasers with answers sheet 1
1- There are 2 solutions to this puzzle. Firstly, you can move the middle horizontal matchstick in the 6 to make it a zero (0+4=4). The second answer is to take the horizontal match off the addition sign and use it to make the 6 into an 8 (8-4=4).
2- The odd word is Grid. All the other words make legitimate words when spelt backwards. Dirg is not a word.
3 – The missing number is 5. Each number is the number of pieces the number before it has. The digital 8 has 7 pieces, the 7 has 3 pieces, and so on.
4 – The shirt has 10 holes. There are the 6 bullet holes, the 2 sleeve holes, and the neck and waist holes.
5 – I am John. Your son’s father is you.
6 – The door has no knob or handle to open it.
Printable brain teasers with answers worksheet 2
1 – The next letter should be E. The letters represent the first letter of the numbers one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven.
2 – The solution is to simply arrange the matchsticks into the numeral 4 which is 3 strokes or lines.
3 – The answer is 12. It is a trick question, a dozen of anything is always 12.
4 – The car is in park number 87. The picture is upside down. Turn it over the other way to see it clearly.
5 – The odd one out is D. All the other 3 digit numbers add up to 15. In D the numbers add up to 14 (3+3+8=14).
6 – The cord/lead for the electric hairdryer is missing. The start of the lead can be seen behind the hairdresser but then it stops.
Printable brain teasers with answers 3
1 – The missing number is 17. In all the numbers the first digit is multiplied by the second digit then the third digit is added to the total (8 x 3 + 4 = 28), (6 x 7 + 5 = 47), (9 x 1 + 8 = 17) and (5 x 2 + 7 = 17).
2 – The answer is hand number 2. It is the odd one out because it is a left hand. all the others are right hands.
3 – The highest number you can make by moving 2 matches is 781. Take the middle and bottom horizontal matches off the three and make a 1 behind the eight.
4 – The answer is paper or tissue paper. If can fall from great heights without a problem but water will destroy it.
5 – The next letter is T. The puzzle uses a decreasing sequence in the order of the alphabet. The letters are 5,4,3,2 places after each other. K is 5 letters after F, O is 4 letters after K, R is 3 letters after 0, and T is 2 letters after R.
6 – The woman’s mouth/lips are upside down.
Printable brain teasers with answers sheet 4
1 – The sign should read 24/7/52. The sequence is hours a day, days in a week, then days a year. It should be hours a day, days a week, and weeks a year to be consistent.
2 – The answer is that both snakes are the same size. The railroad tracks make an optical illusion that makes the furthest snake seem bigger than the closest one.
3 – To make 3 squares, remove the 2 matches in the bottom left corner of the picture. This leaves 4 squares. Then remove the middle match in the top horizontal row to leave 3 squares.
4 – The missing number is 75. The pineapple = 4, watermelon = 9, strawberry = 7, berries = 8. The final line is 8 + 4 + 9 x 7 = 75.
5 – The answer is L. It is the only other letter in the English alphabet that can be made using 2 planks of wood.
6 – The 3 fishermen were a related son, father, and grandfather.
Printable brain teasers with answers sheet 5
1 – To solve this match puzzle you make the glass upside down or inverted. Move the 1 horizontal match either left or right so only its end touches the bottom vertical match. Then take one of the top vertical matches and move it down to make the other side of the glass.
2 – The answer is that the word spot appears twice in the question. This is often overlooked by people who focus on the numbers instead.
3 – To solve this puzzle, switch the middle full glass with the middle empty glass.
4 – There is a crab that is camouflaged in the sand and pebbles around the middle left area.
5 – The answer to this riddle is – Post Office.
6 – The answer to this puzzle is ITP. Each letter comes from the first letter in the question. WAT = what are the, NTL = next three letters, and ITP in this puzzle.
Solutions for brain teasers 6
1 – Make the shape of the word ONE.
2 – All points A, B, and C are the same shade of grey. It is an optical illusion.
3 – Place the numbers as such –
2 – 7 – 6
9 – 5 – 1
4- 3 – 8
4 – Cut the word in half horizontally, then flip it upside down. You will see the month July.
5 – The 9 letter word is abilities.
6 – The answer is a glove.
Solutions for brain teasers 7
1 – See the image below.
2 – AS. The letters represent the first letters of the months of the year – DJ (December, January), FM (February, March), AM (April, May), JJ (June, July), and AS (August, September).
3 -Fill the 5 litre bucket and use this bucket to fill the 3 litre one. Now empty the 3 litre bucket and pour the remainder of the 5 litre bucket into it (this will be two litres).
Next, refill the 5 litres bucket and fill the 3 litre bucket to the top (this will take 1 litre). There will be 4 litres remaining in the 5 litre bucket!
4 – This is an optical illusion. The lines are straight but the staggered squares make them appear to be bent.
5 – Her name is Sarah.
6 – The 4-letter word is jump. The 4 words are countries spelt backwards and missing their first letter. Japan, Uganda, Mexico, and Portugal.
Solutions for brain Teasers 8
1 – See the image below.
2 – X represents the letters US. This forms the words of usual, music, brush, and lotus.
3 – The trick here is to remember that birds have 2 legs while bees have 6. There are 9 birds and 13 bees in the garden.
4 – Turn the square with the 6 in it upside down. This way you can make the number 798.
5 – Dog. By adding the word dog you can form the words of watchdog, underdog, corn dog, and sheepdog.
6 – All the people on the boat are married or in a relationship, hence there are no single people.
