Subtraction number bonds give the whole and one part, as in 9 and 4, and ask for the subtraction they show: 9 − 4 = 5. Pick one of 23 sheet types, then print it with its answer key on page 2.
Read the full guide
Why number bonds subtraction starts with the whole
In 4 + 5 = 9 the whole comes last. In 9 − 4 = 5 it comes first. The bond settles which number leads: the circle with 2 lines is the whole. Subtraction sentence to bond practices that switch on its own.
One bond, two subtractions, three places for the blank
3, 7 and 10 gives 10 − 3 = 7 and 10 − 7 = 3. Each sentence can lose its answer, the number taken away or its starting number. The Common Core table of take-from problems names these result, change and start unknown. A double such as 4, 4 and 8 gives only one subtraction.
Start with Take away from 10: 9 subtractions from 5 bonds, all make-10 facts read backward.
Take away nearly all is for counting up: 9 − 7 is 2 steps from 7 to 9.
Back through ten has 20 bonds and 36 subtractions, and every one crosses 10.
Questions and answers
How do you use number bonds for subtraction?
Put the number you start with in the whole circle and the number you take away in one part. The empty part is the answer. For 9 − 4, write 9 and 4, then ask what goes with 4 to make 9: it is 5.
What grade are subtraction number bonds for?
Mostly first grade. The Common Core has first graders treat subtraction as finding an unknown addend, 10 − 8 by asking what makes 10 with 8 (1.OA.4). England's year 1 curriculum names number bonds and related subtraction facts within 20. Within 5 suits kindergarten.
Does the answer key show the subtraction sentences?
Yes. Page 2 repeats the sheet with every empty circle filled and every sentence written out, such as 9 − 4 = 5. For Two subtractions from one bond it shows both lines. The sheet and its key carry the same short code.
All 23 sheet types
From bond to subtraction sentence 4
Subtraction sentence to bondA finished subtraction is printed under 3 empty circles, and the pupil puts each number in its place. The catch is where the whole is: in 9 − 4 = 5 the whole comes first, not last as it does in 4 + 5 = 9.
Think addition, then subtractTwo lines under each bond: first the addition with a blank, 8 and what make 10, then the subtraction, 10 − 8 = 2. The Common Core words first grade subtraction this way: subtract 10 – 8 by finding the number that makes 10 when added to 8 (1.OA.4).
Two subtractions from one bondThe bond is complete and has 2 lines under it, one for each subtraction: 3, 7 and 10 gives 10 − 3 = 7 and 10 − 7 = 3. Doubles are left out, because 4, 4 and 8 has only one subtraction, 8 − 4 = 4.
Write the subtraction the bond showsThe whole and one part are printed. The pupil fills the empty circle, then writes the subtraction on the line under it: a bond of 9 with 4 given becomes 9 − 4 = 5. Wholes 2 to 10 give 25 bonds and 45 different subtractions.
Show all 23 sheet types (19 more)
Which number is missing 5
Any number missingThe blank moves: what is left, the number taken away or the starting number, in equal shares. Texas asks first grade to find the unknown when it may be any one of the terms in the equation (1.5(F)). One bond answers all three: 8 − 3 = 5.
Equals sign firstThe answer comes before the equals sign: 5 = 9 − 4. Common Core first grade judges equations written this way true or false, 7 = 8 − 1 among them (1.OA.7), and England's year 1 guidance writes 7 = 16 − 9.
Number taken away is missingThe middle number is the blank: 9 take away what leaves 5. The bond answers it with the other subtraction, 9 − 5 = 4, so the blank is 4. The Common Core table calls this change unknown.
Starting number is missingBoth parts sit in the bond and the whole is the blank, so this subtraction is solved by adding: the number that leaves 5 when 4 is taken away is 4 + 5 = 9. The Common Core (1.OA.8), Texas (1.3(B)) and England's year 1 curriculum each print an example of this form, written equals sign first.
What is left is missingThe sentence is printed with its last number blank: 9 − 4 = and a blank, to be filled with 5. The empty circle in the bond is the same number. The Common Core table of take-from problems calls this result unknown.
Within 10, by what is taken away 6
Take away 0 or take away allEvery bond here has 0 as a part, and it gives the two subtractions that are easy to mix up: 7 − 0 = 7 and 7 − 7 = 0. England asks year 1 pupils to realize the effect of adding or subtracting 0.
Take away 1 or 2The number taken away is 1 or 2, so the answer is 1 or 2 steps back along the count: 9 − 2 = 7. The Common Core ties early subtraction to counting (1.OA.5).
Take away from 1010 on top every time, from 10 − 1 = 9 to 10 − 9 = 1: 9 subtractions from 5 bonds. Each is a make-10 fact read backward: 3 and 7 make 10, so 10 − 3 = 7.
Take away halfThe whole is even and the two parts are the same: 8 − 4 = 4. Only 5 bonds within 10 do this, and each gives 1 subtraction, not 2.
Take away nearly allWhat is left is 1 or 2, so counting back is slow and counting up is quick: for 9 − 7, go from 7 up to 9, which is 2 steps, and 9 − 7 = 2. The bond shows why that works: the empty part is the gap between 7 and 9.
Within 5Wholes 2 to 5, only 10 subtractions in all, the range Common Core kindergarten wants fluent (K.OA.5). Small enough to check on the fingers of one hand: 5 − 2 = 3.
Within 20 5
Any subtraction within 20Wholes 2 to 20: 100 bonds and 190 different subtractions, so two sheets rarely match. England's year 1 curriculum puts this whole page in one line: represent and use number bonds and related subtraction facts within 20.
Back through tenBoth parts are one digit and the whole is 11 to 18, so every subtraction crosses 10. The Common Core example splits the 4 to land on 10 first: 13 − 4 = 13 − 3 − 1 = 10 − 1 = 9 (1.OA.6). 20 bonds, 36 subtractions.
Take 10 from a teen numberThe same 9 bonds read the other way: take the ten and the ones are left, 17 − 10 = 7. Set beside 17 − 7 = 10, it shows that one bond holds both subtractions.
Take away from 2020 on top every time: 19 subtractions from 10 bonds. Each is a take-away from 10 with a second ten left alone: 10 − 7 = 3, so 20 − 7 = 13.
Take the ones from a teen numberThe part taken away is the ones digit, so the answer is always 10: 17 − 7 = 10. It is the Common Core kindergarten bond for teen numbers, 18 = 10 + 8 (K.NBT.1), read as a subtraction: 18 − 8 = 10.
Tens and beyond 3
Back from a tenA one-digit number comes off a whole ten, and the ones digit of the answer is its partner to 10: 50 − 4 = 46, because 10 − 4 = 6. Common Core second grade adds and subtracts within 100 fluently (2.NBT.5).
Tens from 100A bond of 10 with a zero on every number: 10 − 3 = 7 becomes 100 − 30 = 70. 9 subtractions from 5 bonds. England's year 2 curriculum asks pupils to derive related facts up to 100 from the facts to 20.
Tens from tens70 − 30 = 40 is 7 − 3 = 4 counted in tens. Common Core first grade subtracts multiples of 10 from multiples of 10 in the range 10 to 90 (1.NBT.6).
How this list was compiled: Own work: every count of bonds and of subtraction sentences was computed and re-derived a second way on 2026-09-19, and every = was checked. Definition of a number bond (with 5 + 2 = 7 known, any one of the three numbers can be filled in if missing): Wikipedia, Number bond, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_bond (checked 2026-09-19). Grade anchors read in the full standards texts on 2026-09-19: Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, CCSSO copy, https://learning.ccsso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Math_Standards1.pdf; Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, 19 TAC chapter 111 subchapter A, https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/ch111a.pdf; National curriculum in England, mathematics programmes of study, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-mathematics-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-mathematics-programmes-of-study (checked 2026-09-19). Lines quoted here: CCSS K.OA.2, K.OA.4, K.OA.5, K.NBT.1 (18 = 10 + 8), 1.OA.1, 1.OA.4 (subtract 10 – 8 by finding the number that makes 10 when added to 8), 1.OA.5, 1.OA.6 (13 – 4 = 13 – 3 – 1 = 10 – 1 = 9), 1.OA.7 (7 = 8 – 1), 1.OA.8 (5 = ? – 3), 1.NBT.2, 1.NBT.6, 2.OA.2, 2.NBT.5 and Table 1 of the glossary (take from: result unknown, change unknown, start unknown); TEKS K.2(I), 1.3(B), 1.3(D), 1.5(E), 1.5(F), 2.4(A); England year 1 (represent and use number bonds and related subtraction facts within 20; missing number problems such as 7 = ? − 9; 16 − 7 = 9 and 7 = 16 − 9; the effect of adding or subtracting 0) and year 2 (derive and use related facts up to 100). The Wikipedia article says nothing about subtraction, so no subtraction claim rests on it. Only England's curriculum uses the words number bonds. The standards texts and the Wikipedia articles named here were read again on 2026-10-03. Licence: own work