These 2nd grade math word problems worksheets are generated rather than scanned, which means you can print a different sheet every day of the week without paying for a subscription or running out of practice. The version loaded below opens with items in the shape of “A box holds 61 marbles. Another box holds 40. How many altogether?” and “There were 86 seats. 13 were taken. How many seats are empty?”; the key lists 101 and 73 next to their question numbers.
‘New set of problems’ opens the generator in its own tab. There you can change the problem count and turn the answer key on or off. ‘Print or save as PDF’ opens the print dialog — choose Save as PDF in the printer list to keep the file. The sheet fits US Letter and A4, and the answer key prints on its own page.
Answers should carry their units. A number without a unit is not an answer to a word problem, however correct the arithmetic.
Key words help and mislead in roughly equal measure. 'Altogether' usually means add and sometimes does not, so the child still has to picture the situation.
These problems use totals under 160, so the reading, not the arithmetic, is the challenge.
A word problem tests two things at once: whether the child can choose the operation, and whether they can carry it out. On a problem like “A box holds 61 marbles. Another box holds 40. How many altogether?”, the arithmetic behind 101 is usually the easy part.
Teachers usually place 2nd grade math word problems worksheets alongside the problem-solving expectations for this grade, which is where the skill sits in the majority of US state frameworks.
| # | Problem | Answer | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A box holds 61 marbles. Another box holds 40. How many altogether? | 101 | Watch for: missing a step in a two-step problem |
| 2 | There were 86 seats. 13 were taken. How many seats are empty? | 73 | Check: answering a different question |
| 3 | Ruby read 68 pages on Monday and 65 pages on Tuesday. How many pages in total? | 133 | Look at: grabbing the numbers and guessing the operation |
| 4 | Jack had 68 pencils and gave away 23. How many are left? | 45 | Ask about: dropping the units |
| 5 | Cleo had 75 pencils and was given 47 more. How many pencils now? | 122 | Watch for: not checking whether the answer is sensible |
| 6 | Finn had 71 marbles and gave away 39. How many are left? | 32 | Check: being thrown by unfamiliar names or objects |
Work “Jack had 68 pencils and gave away 23. How many are left?” out loud as a demonstration. It gives 45. Children who hear “Jack had 68 pencils and gave away 23. How many are left?” reasoned through once at the start of a session make noticeably fewer errors in the ten minutes that follow.
Here is one worked through. “There were 86 seats. 13 were taken. How many seats are empty?” gives 73. If your child arrives somewhere other than 73 on “There were 86 seats. 13 were taken. How many seats are empty?”, look at the working rather than the answer: nearly every wrong result comes from a skipped step, not an unknown fact.
The key prints on its own page by default. Uncheck the answer-key box before printing if you would rather keep it back and mark the sheet yourself.
Keys are produced by the same code that produces the questions, so a mismatch between question and answer is not possible on these sheets.
Printing works the same on US Letter and A4, because the layout uses relative widths rather than fixed inches. Set margins to default and scaling to 100%, and all 20 problems fit.
To save these 2nd grade math word problems worksheets instead of printing them, choose 'Save as PDF' in the printer list. You get the worksheet and the answer key as a single PDF, on Letter or A4 depending on your printer settings.
One sheet of 2nd grade math word problems worksheets a day for two weeks will tell you more about where a 2nd grader actually stands than any single long assessment.
→ Free 2nd Grade Math Worksheets · → Free Word Problems Worksheets
Free printable math worksheets from a working math academy director in Korea. Problems come from our own code, not from a published workbook. Every sheet prints on US Letter or A4 with its answer key. All worksheets · Worksheet generator · Korean site
Last updated: 2026-09-13