Multi-digit add/subtract3-digit
Name: Date:
Add or subtract. Work down the columns, and check the sign first.
1651−403
2595−382
3993+954
4902−149
5744−433
6251+663
7937+751
8401+244
Column addition & subtraction worksheets
Once single-digit facts are automatic, children line numbers up and work column by column. These free printable worksheets practice the standard written method for adding and subtracting multi-digit whole numbers, carrying and borrowing across places.
Kid stuck on one? You don’t just get the sheet.
Column addition & subtraction
The answer key prints on a separate page.
What's on this sheet
Each problem stacks two numbers of the chosen digit length with the operation on the left, ready to be worked one column at a time from the ones place. Addition and subtraction share a page — or sticks to one — and every subtraction's top number is larger than the bottom, so answers stay whole and non-negative while the child concentrates on regrouping.
Why this sheet works
Regrouping is the whole point at this stage, so it is a control rather than an accident. Ask for problems that always carry or borrow when that is the sticking point, turn regrouping off for a gentler warm-up, or leave it mixed. The digit size sets the difficulty — two, three, or four digits — while the layout stays the familiar vertical column a child writes in by hand.
How this one works
One question from this sheet, worked through a step at a time.
651 − 403
411 651 403 248
- 651 − 403, written in columns. Start at the RIGHT, with the ones.
- 1 is too small to take 3 from, so a ten comes across from the left: the ones now holds 11. 11 − 3 = 8.
- This column gave a ten to the right, so it is now 4, not 5. 4 − 0 = 4.
- 6 take away 4 leaves 2. Write it in the hundreds.
- That is the whole sum: 651 − 403 = 248.