Mixed Operation Word Problems
Free printable word problems that mix addition, subtraction, multiplication and division on one page, so the student has to read to choose. With an answer key.
Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division stories on the same page, two of each on a page of eight, and nothing in the title to say which one a story needs. Every page holds the same number of each operation, in a shuffled order, so a student cannot work out the operation from what the rest of the page is doing. The numbers are 2 to 9, which keeps the sums within 18 and the products within 81.
The stories are not all the obvious kind. A "left" story may need adding, a story that gives some more may need subtracting, and "each" appears in multiplication and division alike. The key prints the sentence the story describes, then the operation that solves it. Choose Story types under Advanced options to go back to the ordinary stories, and use the operator bar to practise only two of the four.
What this worksheet covers
- Choose among all four operations by reading the story
- Tell equal-groups stories from stories that join or separate
- Find a missing start, change, part or number of groups
Common Core standards
- 2.OA.A.1 Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one- and two-step word problems.
- 3.OA.A.3 Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems.
Frequently asked questions
Why does every page hold the same number of each operation?
So that the page itself gives nothing away. A page of eight has two of each operation, and a page of six has two of two operations and one of the other two, with the extras going to operations chosen at random. A sheet that ran to type would let a student guess from the pattern.
Can I practise just two of the operations?
Yes. Untick the others in the operator bar above the settings. Addition and subtraction alone makes a sheet like Addition and Subtraction Word Problems, and multiplication and division alone makes one like Multiplication and Division Word Problems. The page then splits the two you kept evenly.
Where do two-step problems fit?
They are not on this page. Each story here takes one operation, and the skill is choosing it. A two-step problem needs a different generator, because the second operation depends on the answer to the first.
What grade is this page for?
Third grade and up, because it includes multiplication and division facts within 100. A second-grade class that has only met addition and subtraction should start with Addition and Subtraction Word Problems.
More word problems
- Addition Word Problem WorksheetsRead a story and tell that it calls for addition
- Subtraction Word Problem WorksheetsTell take-away stories apart from addition stories
- Multiplication Word Problem WorksheetsSpot equal groups in a story and multiply them
- Division Word Problem WorksheetsSpot sharing and grouping stories as division
- Long Division Word Problem WorksheetsSolve story problems that need long division
- Addition and Subtraction Word ProblemsDecide whether a story needs addition or subtraction
- Multiplication and Division Word ProblemsDecide whether a story needs multiplication or division