1st grade addition and subtraction word problems

A free printable sheet of 8 Grade 1 addition and subtraction word problems, with a hint for a grown-up under each one and an answer key worked out by Kizupi’s math engine. Press New sheet for another.

By The Kizupi team · Updated November 4, 2026

Grade 1 addition and subtraction word problems

Name: ____________________

Ben read 13 pages in two days. On day one, Ben read 6 pages. How many pages did Ben read on day two?
Hint for a grown-up: What is the whole here? What is one part?
The first pencil is 11 cm long. The second pencil is 3 cm shorter. How long is the second pencil?
Hint for a grown-up: Shorter by 3 cm: do we add or take away? How do you know?
Ravi has 2 bags of 10 marbles, plus 9 more on the table. How many marbles is that?
Hint for a grown-up: How many marbles are in all the bags?
A frog sits on 5. It jumps 2 forward, then 2 again, then 2 again. Where does it land?
Hint for a grown-up: How long is each jump? How many jumps does the frog make?
Mia wrote 7 + 9 = 10 + 7. Kizupi says it is false. What number should Mia write instead of 7 to make it true?
Hint for a grown-up: How much is 7 + 9? Is 10 + 7 the same?
Nina had 50 hats. Then Nina bought 20 more. How many hats does Nina have now?
Hint for a grown-up: How many tens is 50? How many tens is 20?
Anna has 37 owl stamps. Anna gives a strip of 10 stamps to a friend. How many stamps are left?
Hint for a grown-up: When you take away 10, which digit changes?
Omar has 5 shells. Mia has 10 shells. How many more shells does Mia have?
Hint for a grown-up: Line them up. Where do they stop being the same?

From kizupi.com/tools · Grade 1, sheet 2053

What these addition and subtraction problems cover

Each sheet draws 8 problems from 12 Grade 1 addition and subtraction word problems in Kizupi’s published lessons, a different skill for each where it can. Only problems that work on paper are used.

Tens and ones · Fact families · How many more? · Segment diagrams · Working backward · Jumps on the number line · Adding tens · Measuring length · What the equal sign means · True or false equations · Compare stories to 20 · Ten more, ten less

Where this fits in 1st grade

The Common Core math standards say Grade 1 time should go to these areas [1]:

Adding and subtracting within 20, and strategies for it
Place value: grouping in tens and ones
Measuring length with units
Putting shapes together and taking them apart

For a sheet that mixes every Grade 1 skill, use the 1st grade math word problems page.

Questions parents ask

What addition and subtraction word problems do 1st graders do?

The sheets here draw from 12 Grade 1 skills: Tens and ones, Fact families, How many more?, Segment diagrams, Working backward, Jumps on the number line, Adding tens, Measuring length, What the equal sign means, True or false equations, Compare stories to 20, Ten more, ten less.

Is the worksheet free?

Yes. No account and no email. Press New sheet for another set of the same topic, and print as many as you like.

Are the answers right?

Every answer is computed with exact arithmetic by the same engine that checks children’s answers in Kizupi, not typed in by hand.

What if addition and subtraction word problems are too hard?

Read the problem aloud together and ask what the story is about before any numbers. Use the hint under each problem. If it is still hard, act the story out with small toys or blocks.

Sources

Common Core State Standards Initiative, Grade 1 introduction. Read October 27, 2026.

Want a tutor that asks “how do you know?” every day? Kizupi’s pixel owl reads each problem aloud, hints one small step at a time and never hands over the answer. Grades 1–6.

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