What has many eyes but cannot see
Riddle Answers

What has many eyes but cannot see? – Riddle Answer + Meaning

3 riddles · tap Hint or Answer to reveal

by

Riddle: What has many eyes but cannot see?

Answer: A potato

Riddle Explanation + Meaning

A potato is a common vegetable that you might find in your kitchen.

The "eyes" of a potato are not like the eyes on your face that you see with.

Instead, these eyes are small spots or buds on the potato's surface.

Potatoes use these eyes to grow new plants, not to see the world around them.

So, even though a potato has many of these eyes, it cannot see anything.

This riddle plays with the word "eyes" to make you think of seeing, but in reality, it's talking about a completely different kind of eye.

If you enjoyed working this one out, try our potato riddles for the whole family, the vegetable riddles collection and our riddles about eyes to unveil.

Why the answer is a potato

The riddle uses the word "eyes" in a way you might not know. On a potato, the "eyes" are the little dimples and buds on the skin, which can grow into new shoots if you leave a potato in a cupboard long enough. So a potato really does have many eyes, even though none of them can see. The riddle relies on you picturing faces and animals first. Showing children a real potato with its eyes is a great way to help the answer stick.

It is hard because "eyes" and "cannot see" make us think of something blind, or of a toy or a statue. Other answers fit too. A needle has an eye, though only one. A storm has an eye, and so does a peacock's tail. Some people answer "a pineapple" or "a spider," but a spider can see. The potato is the classic answer because it truly has many eyes.

Where this riddle comes from

This is a classic "what am I" riddle of unknown origin. It is part of a big family of riddles built on body words used for objects, such as the hands of a clock, the teeth of a comb, or the tongue of a shoe. These riddles are great for teaching children that words can have more than one meaning.

3 more riddles like this one

What has hands and a face but cannot clap or smile?

Hint
Look at the wall when you want to know the time.
Answer
A clock

What has a tongue but cannot talk, and goes everywhere you walk?

Hint
You tie it before you go outside.
Answer
A shoe

What has many teeth but never bites?

Hint
You use it on your hair in the morning.
Answer
A comb

How to solve riddles like this

  • When a riddle names a body part, ask what objects also use that word.
  • Think of kitchens, bedrooms, and school bags. Everyday objects are the usual answers.
  • Check whether your answer has "many" or just one of the parts the riddle mentions.
  • Make a list of phrases like "eye of a needle" or "legs of a table" to practice.