Riddles for Elementary Students

I am odd until one letter leaves, then I become even. What number am I?

I have cities but no houses and rivers but no water. What am I?

I am full of words but never speak. What am I?

I fly without wings and cry without eyes. What am I?

What has four fingers and a thumb but is not alive?

The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?

I am tall when young and short when old. What am I?

What begins with T, ends with T, and has T inside?

What can you catch but not throw?

What gets wetter as it dries?

What has hands but cannot clap?

What is full of holes but still holds water?

I travel around the world while staying in a corner. What am I?

I come from a mine and live in a pencil. What am I?

I am not alive but need air to grow. What am I?

What has keys but cannot open doors?

What has teeth but never bites?

What has a neck but no head?

What kind of room has no doors or windows?

What has a head and tail but no body?

What goes up but never comes down?

What can fill a room without taking up space?

What has a bark but is not a dog?

What can be cracked, made, told, and played?

What has a spine but no bones?

What gets bigger when you take more away?

What has ears but cannot hear?

What do students sharpen before writing?

What waits at recess but never plays?

What turns morning work into a mystery?