Subtraction Worksheet Generator
Print subtraction practice that isolates the hard part: borrowing. Choose problems with no borrowing, problems that must borrow, or the tricky 5003 − 1768 kind where a borrow has to pass through zeros. Every sheet has a name-and-date header and a separate answer key. Free, no sign-up.
Quick levels
Without negative answers, the bottom number never has more digits than the top.
Missing-number problems use the one-line layout.
Leave blank to use the default title.
The same number with the same settings always gives the same worksheet. Type one to bring a sheet back.
In the print dialog choose the paper size above, set the scale to 100%, and turn off headers and footers. The answer key starts on its own page, so print page 1 for students.
Subtraction Practice
Worksheet 240817Subtraction Practice — Answer key
Worksheet 240817- 1.64 − 10 = 54
- 2.97 − 15 = 82
- 3.41 − 25 = 16
- 4.94 − 15 = 79
- 5.87 − 71 = 16
- 6.88 − 23 = 65
- 7.41 − 23 = 18
- 8.99 − 71 = 28
- 9.93 − 72 = 21
- 10.89 − 38 = 51
- 11.51 − 33 = 18
- 12.92 − 47 = 45
- 13.30 − 29 = 1
- 14.89 − 35 = 54
- 15.42 − 27 = 15
- 16.57 − 31 = 26
- 17.61 − 32 = 29
- 18.59 − 34 = 25
- 19.54 − 12 = 42
- 20.74 − 45 = 29
How to Use the Subtraction Worksheet Generator
- 1. Pick a quick level or set your own. Buttons load common levels, from single-digit facts to borrowing across zeros. Every setting stays editable.
- 2. Control the borrowing. None guarantees every column can subtract directly, Required makes each problem borrow at least once, and Across a zero builds problems where the borrow has to pass through a zero in the top number.
- 3. Set the size. Choose the digits in each number, an optional largest top number, the number of problems, and a stacked or one-line layout. Turn on Regrouping boxes if you want space to write the adjusted digits.
- 4. Print. New worksheet draws a fresh set; Print sends the student sheet (page 1) and the answer key (page 2). Print only page 1 for students.
Borrowing Is Where Subtraction Goes Wrong
Subtraction is not commutative, and the column method hides a regrouping step that addition does not: when the digit on top is smaller than the digit below it, the student has to take one from the next column to the left and turn it into ten. Many errors come from skipping this and subtracting the smaller digit from the larger one instead. Setting borrowing to None gives students a sheet where every column subtracts cleanly; Required then makes borrowing the point of the exercise.
Worksheet 482913 — three-digit minus two-digit, five problems
Borrowing: none
297 − 34 = 263, 286 − 40 = 246, 368 − 61 = 307, 389 − 17 = 372, 969 − 67 = 902
Borrowing: required
520 − 59 = 461, 339 − 95 = 244, 240 − 16 = 224, 224 − 84 = 140, 604 − 18 = 586
Borrowing Across Zeros
A zero in the top number is the classic stumbling block, because there is nothing to take from. The borrow has to come from the next non-zero digit, and every zero in between becomes a 9. The Across a zero setting builds the top number with zeros inside it (never as its leading digit) and keeps only problems where a borrow really does pass through one. It needs a top number with at least three digits.
Take 1006 − 267 from a four-digit sheet. The ones column cannot subtract 7 from 6, and the tens and hundreds are both zero, so the 1 in the thousands place gives up its value: the thousands become 0, the hundreds 9, the tens 9, and the ones 16. Then 16 − 7 = 9, 9 − 6 = 3, 9 − 2 = 7, and the answer is 739.
Levels by Skill
| Skill | Settings | What it builds |
|---|---|---|
| Single-digit facts | Quick level: Single-digit facts | Recall of differences from numbers up to 9, with zero |
| Facts within 20 | 2-digit top, 1-digit bottom, largest top number 20 | Subtracting through ten |
| Two-digit, no borrowing | 2 digits each, borrowing None | Aligning and subtracting by place value |
| Two-digit, borrowing | 2 digits each, borrowing Required | Regrouping a ten into ones |
| Across zeros | 3 to 5 digit top number, Across a zero | Chained regrouping |
| Negative answers | Allow negative answers | Differences below zero, for students working with integers |
Placement varies by curriculum, so treat grade levels as rough guides. In the Common Core State Standards, grade 1 includes "understand subtraction as an unknown-addend problem" (1.OA.B.4), grade 2 asks students to fluently add and subtract within 100 (2.NBT.B.5), grade 3 within 1000 (3.NBT.A.2), and grade 4 asks for the standard algorithm with multi-digit whole numbers (4.NBT.B.4). Check your own state or school standards for exact placement.
Checking With Addition
Because subtraction undoes addition, every answer can be checked by adding it back to the bottom number: 604 − 18 = 586, and 586 + 18 = 604. The answer key lists each problem in full, so students can see the equation they should be able to reproduce. Missing-number problems in the one-line layout — 9 − ? = 5 — practise the same link. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is borrowing in subtraction?
- Borrowing, or regrouping, is what you do when the digit on top is smaller than the digit below it. You take one from the next column to the left and add ten to the current column. In 52 − 27, the 2 cannot subtract 7, so the 5 tens become 4 tens and the 2 ones become 12 ones; then 12 − 7 = 5 and 4 − 2 = 2, giving 25.
- How do I make subtraction worksheets without borrowing?
- Set Borrowing (regrouping) to None. Every column's top digit is then at least as large as the bottom digit, so 297 − 34 qualifies and 52 − 27 does not. The bottom number never has more digits than the top number unless you allow negative answers.
- What does the Across a zero setting do?
- It builds problems like 5003 − 1768, where a zero in the top number forces the borrow to travel through it. It needs at least three digits in the top number. If you choose it with fewer, the sheet falls back to ordinary borrowing and says so.
- Can the answers be negative?
- Only if you tick Allow negative answers. By default the top number is never smaller than the bottom, so every difference is zero or positive. With negatives on, the bottom number may be larger and the answer key shows a true minus sign.
- Can I limit the numbers, for subtraction within 10 or 20?
- Yes. Use Largest top number, or the Facts within 20 quick level, which uses a two-digit top number no larger than 20 and a one-digit bottom number. If your settings contradict each other, the sheet warns you instead of quietly breaking a rule.
- Can I print the same worksheet again?
- Yes. The worksheet number printed in the corner, with the same settings, regenerates the identical problems and answer key. Change any setting and the problems change.