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Home » Math by grade » Grades 2, 3 and 4 » Place value riddles (for 2 and 3 digit numbers)

Place value riddles (for 2 and 3 digit numbers)

February 9, 2020

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Place value riddles task cards for 2 and 3 digit numbers.

Practise place value vocabulary, logical thinking and mental math skills with these place value riddles for both 2 and 3 digit numbers

Math riddles!

I always loved this type of brain teaser when I was a kid (and still do!).

If you’re looking for a fun math activity for your child at home, or for some brain teasers for your homeschool or classroom, these place value math riddles are a great option.

They’ll really get your child thinking and they’re a great for practising place value vocabulary, mental math skills and arithmetic.

Read on to find out more.

Related post: Free printable place value charts

Tell me about these place value math riddles!

These math riddles task cards are available in two versions – one for 2 digit numbers and one for 3 digit numbers.

  • Product cover for 2 digit place value riddles
  • Product cover for 3 digit place value riddles

In each of these two versions, there are 24 task cards. On each task card there is a riddle made up of between 2 and 4 short clues. Use the clues to help you work out the mystery number.

The riddles get progressively harder as you work your way through the task cards. The first 8 task cards are the easiest, the next 8 are a bit more challenging and the final 8 may well involve some head-scratching.

Solving the riddles

On each card, the first line of the riddle tells you how many digits the mystery number has (e.g. “I am a two digit number”)

For some riddles, you can find the number by doing one calculation. For example:

place value riddle task card for a 2 digit number

For most of the riddles, however, you will have to do several calculations to find the answer. For example:

3 digit number riddle task card

For some of the harder riddles, I would definitely recommend having some spare paper available to jot down any working out.

For example, in the riddle below, you may want to write down all of the multiples of 4 which are less than 40 so that you can then go through and find the one which has digits adding up to 9.

2 digit number riddle task card

How do I use this resource?

This resource is really versatile and requires very little prep. Simply print the task cards (there are 4 task cards per page) and also a copy of the answer recording sheet for your child or each student in your class.

2 task cards and recording sheet

Each task card is numbered in the bottom corner (1 to 24) and the answer sheet has a box corresponding to each riddle.

An answer key is included, as well as black and white versions of the task cards.

If you’re using these in the classroom, the task cards make a great math center.

Need these riddles in the form of a worksheet?

No problem!

A two-page worksheet with all 24 riddles (and answer boxes) is included at the end of the resource. Great as a homework activity!

Where can I purchase these place value riddles?

These place value task cards are available in my store. Simply click on one of the product covers below:

Product cover for 2 digit place value riddles
Product cover for 3 digit place value riddles

Thanks for checking out these place value riddles.

If you liked this post, why not pin it? Thanks for your help!

Place value riddles pin image

More from Math, Kids and Chaos

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  • Real life arrays task cards
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Grades 2, 3 and 4· Place Value· Place value resources

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