Use this page when you want subtraction word problems in the next thirty seconds: choose how many problems you want, press print, and the answer key comes out on its own page behind the worksheet. The version loaded below opens with items in the shape of “There were 47 seats. 26 were taken. How many seats are empty?” and “Zoe saved 90 points and spent 15. How many points remain?”; the key lists 21 and 75 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.
The reliable routine is to read it twice, say what is being asked in your own words, write the number sentence, then calculate. Skipping straight to the numbers is what produces confident wrong answers.
Because the names, objects and numbers regenerate, the child cannot recognise a problem type by its wording alone.
These problems use numbers under 90, 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 “There were 47 seats. 26 were taken. How many seats are empty?”, the arithmetic behind 21 is usually the easy part.
Teachers usually place subtraction word problems 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 | There were 47 seats. 26 were taken. How many seats are empty? | 21 | Watch for: grabbing the numbers and guessing the operation |
| 2 | Zoe saved 90 points and spent 15. How many points remain? | 75 | Check: answering a different question |
| 3 | Ava saved 80 points and spent 62. How many points remain? | 18 | Look at: not checking whether the answer is sensible |
| 4 | There were 64 seats. 18 were taken. How many seats are empty? | 46 | Ask about: being thrown by unfamiliar names or objects |
| 5 | There were 49 seats. 25 were taken. How many seats are empty? | 24 | Watch for: dropping the units |
| 6 | There were 56 seats. 50 were taken. How many seats are empty? | 6 | Check: missing a step in a two-step problem |
The item “Zoe saved 90 points and spent 15. How many points remain?” is worth doing slowly. The answer to “Zoe saved 90 points and spent 15. How many points remain?” is 75, and the route to it is the route every other problem on this sheet takes — which is why the sheet has 20 of them rather than one.
Try “Ava saved 80 points and spent 62. How many points remain?” together before letting the child start alone. The answer to “Ava saved 80 points and spent 62. How many points remain?” is 18, and talking through how it was reached takes about a minute and saves several minutes of guessing later in the sheet.
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 21 for “There were 47 seats. 26 were taken. How many seats are empty?”.
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.
Portrait orientation is what the sheet is designed for. Landscape works but wastes about a third of the paper, so leave the orientation alone unless you have a reason.
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 “There were 47 seats. 26 were taken. How many seats are empty?” from a neighbour.
One sheet of subtraction word problems a day for two weeks will tell you more about where a child working at this level actually stands than any single long assessment.
→ 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