Subtraction Worksheets

Printable subtraction practice with numbers from one to five digits, including borrowing. Grades 1–4.

Ctrl+P to print worksheet Ctrl+R to randomize

You can also solve this worksheet on screen: choose Solve online above the worksheet, then press Check answers.

What these worksheets practise

Subtraction worksheets practise taking one number away from another, first as quick facts and then with the written column method.

The larger number always comes first, so answers are never negative unless negative numbers are switched on. Larger problems involve borrowing (regrouping): when a digit on top is smaller than the digit below it, take one from the next column to the left.

Worked examples

Two digits minus one digit: 52−752 - 7

Ones: 2 is smaller than 7, so borrow one ten: 12−7=512 - 7 = 5. Tens: 5−1=45 - 1 = 4.

52−7=4552 - 7 = 45

Borrowing across a zero: 403−68403 - 68

Ones: 3 is smaller than 8, but the tens digit is 0. Borrow from the hundreds: 403 becomes 3 hundreds, 9 tens and 13 ones. Then 13−8=513 - 8 = 5, 9−6=39 - 6 = 3, and 3−0=33 - 0 = 3.

403−68=335403 - 68 = 335

Check your answers

Add the answer to the number you subtracted: 335+68=403335 + 68 = 403. If it gives back the first number, the subtraction is right.

Common mistakes

  • Subtracting the smaller digit from the larger. In 52−752 - 7, doing 7−2=57 - 2 = 5 in the ones column gives 55 instead of 45.
  • Forgetting to reduce the column you borrowed from. After borrowing, the 5 tens are 4 tens.
  • Getting stuck on a zero. In 403−68403 - 68, borrow from the hundreds first, then from the tens.
  • Lining up from the left. Ones go under ones: the 7 in 52−752 - 7 goes under the 2.

A practice path through the settings

  1. One digit minus one digit. Because the larger number comes first, every answer is between 0 and 7.
  2. Teens minus one digit. Set the first number to 2 digits with a Max Value of 20. Answers run from 1 to 18, and problems such as 13−713 - 7 need the first borrowing.
  3. Two digits minus one digit. With the Max Value back at 99, borrowing appears on many problems, but not on all of them: 52−752 - 7 needs it and 58−758 - 7 does not, so students have to look at the ones column every time.
  4. Three digits minus two digits. Borrowing can now pass through a zero, as in 403−68403 - 68.

Subtraction usually takes a little longer to become automatic than addition, so it is worth staying on each step until the borrowing is steady.

Sample problems

These problems come from the same generator as the worksheet above. Press Generate for a fresh set.

2-digit and 1-digit numbers

  1. 38−3=38 - 3 =
  2. 64−6=64 - 6 =

3-digit and 1-digit numbers

  1. 879−7=879 - 7 =
  2. 217−5=217 - 5 =

3-digit and 2-digit numbers

  1. 412−50=412 - 50 =
  2. 380−31=380 - 31 =
Show answers
  1. 35
  2. 58
  3. 872
  4. 212
  5. 362
  6. 349

Tips for teachers and parents

  • Base-ten blocks or bundles of ten straws make borrowing concrete before the written method.
  • Checking by addition turns every problem into a self-marking one.
  • Pair subtraction with addition worksheets: they are two views of the same fact family.

Related topics