Addition Word Problem Worksheets
Free printable addition word problems: short stories where someone has some and gets more. Single digits by default, up to three digits, with an answer key.
Every story here has the same shape: someone has some, gets some more, and the question asks how many there are now. Mia found 8 shells on the beach and then dug up 5 more. How many shells does she have in total? It is the first kind of word problem a student meets, and the one that teaches them to read a story and see an addition in it.
The page opens on single-digit numbers, so the adding is a fact a first or second grader already knows and the work is in the reading. Eight stories fit on a page, drawn from a pool of fifty, and no story appears twice on a sheet. Choose 2 or 3 under Digits for the same stories with larger numbers, where the adding becomes column addition.
What this worksheet covers
- Read a story and tell that it calls for addition
- Write and solve the addition sentence the story describes
Common Core standards
- 1.OA.A.1 Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems.
- 2.OA.A.1 Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one- and two-step word problems.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of addition word problems are these?
Add-to stories: a starting amount, some more arriving, and a total to find. Both numbers are given and the total is always the unknown. There are no missing-addend or comparison stories, so this is the place to start rather than the place to finish. Addition and Subtraction Word Problems adds stories where the start or the change is the unknown.
What grade are addition word problems for?
With single digits, first and second grade. Set Digits to 2 for second grade, where the sums need regrouping, and to 3 for third grade.
Can I choose problems with or without regrouping?
Yes. With two- or three-digit numbers, open Advanced options and set Regrouping to Regrouping Only, No Regrouping or Both.
What does the answer key show?
The number sentence under each story, such as 8 + 5 = 13. That shows whether a student picked the right operation as well as the right total, which is the point of a word problem.
Will the same story come up twice?
Not on one sheet. Stories are dealt from the pool without repeats, each with a different name, and New problems deals a fresh set.