Three-step word problems worksheets

Three operations, in an order the question does not state. These free printable word problems are the step past two-step ones, where keeping track of what has been worked out matters as much as the arithmetic.

Three-step word problems
Three-step word problems worksheet — Three operations in order, free printable with answer key

The answer key prints on a separate page.

What's on this sheet

The difficulty is not the sums. Each individual step is something a fourth-grader can do; what is hard is holding two intermediate results in mind while working out the third, and knowing which one the question is actually asking for. That is why writing each step down, labeled, matters more here than on any easier sheet.

Why this sheet works

A common failure is answering the second step. A child works out the total, works out the difference, and stops — because the difference is a number and the page wanted one. Re-reading the question after the last step, and asking what it was for, catches almost all of those.