Math PicnicEvery sheet is a promise

Geometry word problems worksheets

A garden, a rug, a picture frame — the shape is described in words and never drawn. These free printable word problems ask for perimeter and area from a sentence, which is what a real measuring job looks like.

Customize Practice Save as PDF I want another one

If they get stuck

See it worked step by step →Answer it on screen →
Geometry word problems
Geometry word problems worksheet — Perimeter and area, no figure, free printable with answer key

The answer key prints on a separate page.

What's on this sheet

Taking the drawing away changes the question. With a rectangle on the page a child can count or measure; with only "a rug 4 meters by 11 meters" they have to build the picture themselves and then decide whether the question wants the edge or the inside. Sketching it before calculating is the habit this sheet exists to build.

Why this sheet works

Perimeter and area are asked on the same page on purpose, because telling them apart is the actual difficulty. The words give it away every time — fencing, edging and framing are perimeter, carpeting, painting and covering are area — and reading for those words is a more reliable method than remembering two formulas.

How this one works

One question from a sheet like this one, worked a step at a time — with a sentence saying what just happened and why.

Geometry word problems, step by step

Pick another skill