Free printable activity

Word Brain Teaser Printable Pack

Ten anagrams, word riddles and hidden-message puzzles, with answers on separate pages.

Instructions: Try all ten puzzles first. The answer key starts on a separate printed page.

Write your answer beneath each question.

Odd to even
I am an odd number. Remove one letter from my name and I become even. What number am I?
Jumbled thinking
Rearrange RBAIN to make a word related to solving puzzles.
Number-to-letter code
Using A=1, B=2, … Z=26, decode: 16–21–26–26–12–5.
Hidden alternate letters
Read every second letter, starting with the first: PAUBZCZDL EEF. Ignore spaces. What word appears?
Cold to warm
Turn COLD into WARM, changing exactly one letter per move; every step must be an English word. Can you do it in four moves?
Two fruit names
Rearrange the letters in LEMON to name another fruit.
The thing you can crack
I can be cracked, made, told or played on someone. What am I?
Minute and moment
What appears once in “minute”, twice in “moment”, and never in “thousand years”?
Getting shorter
What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters?
The queue that stays
Which five-letter word is pronounced the same if you remove its last four letters?

Answers and explanations

Keep this sheet separate until you have tried the puzzles.

Odd to even: Seven
Removing the first letter S from SEVEN leaves EVEN.
Jumbled thinking: BRAIN
RBAIN is an anagram of BRAIN.
Number-to-letter code: PUZZLE
16=P, 21=U, 26=Z, 26=Z, 12=L and 5=E.
Hidden alternate letters: PUZZLE
The string is P A U B Z C Z D L E E F. The odd-numbered letters spell P U Z Z L E.
Cold to warm: COLD → CORD → CARD → WARD → WARM
Every move changes exactly one letter and all five entries are English words.
Two fruit names: MELON
LEMON and MELON contain the same five letters.
The thing you can crack: A joke
A joke can be cracked, made, told, or played on another person.
Minute and moment: The letter M
“Minute” has one M, “moment” has two and “thousand years” has none.
Getting shorter: SHORT
Adding ER to SHORT makes SHORTER.
The queue that stays: QUEUE
QUEUE is commonly pronounced like the single letter Q.