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Subtracting Decimals Worksheets

If you need subtracting decimals worksheets that you can print right now, this page builds them for you — 20 fresh problems, an answer key underneath, and no account to create first. You will see items like 17.45 − 11.77 and 47.82 − 9.93 on the printed page, with 5.68 and 37.89 waiting on the answer key so nobody has to redo the arithmetic.

📄 SUBTRACTING DECIMALS WORKSHEETS — A NEW SHEET EVERY TIME YOU PRESS THE BUTTON
🎲 New set of problems

‘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.

The skill behind these problems

This is where place-value understanding gets tested. To a child who really understands 67.48 − 1.72, the tenths column is not 'the first column after the point' — it is a place worth a tenth.

Writing in a trailing zero so both numbers have the same number of decimal places is not required mathematically and helps enormously in practice.

Estimation is the check that works best here. Rounding each number in 47.82 − 9.93 to the nearest whole gives a total that 37.89 has to be close to.

Adding decimals is column addition with one extra rule: the decimal points line up. Get that right and 17.45 − 11.77 is no harder than the whole-number version; get it wrong and the answer is not remotely 5.68.

In US classrooms these subtracting decimals worksheets are commonly aligned with the decimal operations expectations for grade 5, though the exact wording varies from state to state.

Examples taken from this worksheet

These six come from the sheet loaded on this page. Press the button and the numbers change, but the shape stays the same (two-place decimals up to 99.95).
#ProblemAnswerWhat to check
117.45 − 11.77 =5.68Watch for: treating the two sides of the point as separate numbers
247.82 − 9.93 =37.89Check: not estimating
367.48 − 1.72 =65.76Look at: regrouping across the decimal point incorrectly
494.23 − 34.62 =59.61Ask about: lining the numbers up on the right
556.42 − 16.57 =39.85Watch for: losing the decimal point in the answer
613.87 − 5.84 =8.03Check: forgetting the trailing zero

Try one together first

A good first problem to do together is 17.45 − 11.77, which comes out at 5.68. Do 17.45 − 11.77 once with the child narrating, then hand over the pencil and start the clock on the other 20 problems.

Try 67.48 − 1.72 together before letting the child start alone. The answer to 67.48 − 1.72 is 65.76, and talking through how it was reached takes about a minute and saves several minutes of guessing later in the sheet.

Where children usually slip up

Getting the most out of 10 minutes a day

  1. Run the sheet at the same time each day. Ten focused minutes before dinner beats an hour on Sunday, because subtracting two-place decimals is a recall skill: 17.45 − 11.77 has to arrive without being worked out, and recall is built by frequency.
  2. Write the finish time and the score at the top of every sheet. Two weeks of those two numbers tells you more about progress on subtracting two-place decimals than any single test result.
  3. Re-print the same skill rather than the same sheet. Because the numbers change, a child who memorised that 17.45 − 11.77 gives 5.68 still has to actually calculate tomorrow.
  4. Use a pencil, not a pen. Children working on subtracting two-place decimals rethink far more often when erasing is allowed, and you get to see exactly where the rethinking happened on an item like 67.48 − 1.72.
  5. Stop the session at the time limit even if the sheet is unfinished, and note where the child got to. A half sheet done well is better data than a whole sheet rushed.

The answer key

Because the numbers are random, there is no shared answer list to look up: the key printed behind your sheet is the only one that fits it, and it shows 5.68 for 17.45 − 11.77.

Every generated sheet carries its own key on a separate printed page, which lets a child self-mark without seeing the answers while they work.

Printing on US Letter or A4

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.

For a class set, print one sheet, press the new-worksheet button and print again. Each child gets different numbers on the same skill, so nobody can copy the answer to 17.45 − 11.77 from a neighbour.

Frequently asked questions

How many different sheets can I make?
As many as you want. The numbers are randomised each time, so printing five sheets in a row gives five different sets of 20 problems on the same skill.
Do I need an account to print these worksheets?
No. There is no sign-up, no email and no download step — the subtracting decimals worksheets are built in your browser and go straight to your printer or to a PDF file.
Why do the decimal points have to line up?
Because addition adds like places to like places. Lining up the points is just the way to make sure tenths sit under tenths and hundredths under hundredths.
Is money the same as decimals?
Almost — money is decimals with exactly two places and a currency symbol. The money pages linked below use the same skill in a context children recognise.

When these become easy, move along the related links below rather than adding more problems to the same sheet.

More worksheets like this

→ Free Decimals 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