These subtraction worksheets for grade 1 open on 20 facts within 20, such as 17 − 9 = 8. Other sheet types print missing numbers like 12 − ___ = 7, 10 less and word problems.
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What 1st grade subtraction worksheets cover
Common Core 1.OA.6 sets grade 1 to subtract within 20 and to be fluent within 10. The opening sheet mixes facts with numbers up to 20. Three groups go past bare facts: the unknown in any place (1.OA.8), word problems (1.OA.1), and Tens and 10 less for 1.NBT.5 and 1.NBT.6.
Which subtraction worksheets grade 1 should print first
Start with Teen number minus ones, no crossing ten, where 19 − 4 = 15 changes only the ones. Take away the ones and Take away 10 from a teen number come next, then the mixed opening sheet. Print Missing number taken away before Missing start number.
On the missing start sheet, a 3 where 15 belongs means the pupil subtracted the two numbers they could see.
When the numbers are close, count up: for 19 − 16, counting 17, 18, 19 beats counting back 16.
Questions and answers
Are these subtraction worksheets within 20 only?
Nearly all. Every fact, missing number and story sheet keeps both numbers at 20 or less. The exceptions sit under Tens and 10 less: 10 less than numbers up to 120, from Texas 1.5(C), and tens from tens up to 90.
Does grade 1 subtraction need regrouping?
No. Within 20 there is no column work: pupils count back, go through ten (14 − 6 as 14 − 4 − 2) or think of the addition. Common Core moves on to subtracting within 100 in grade 2 (2.NBT.5).
Where are the grade 1 math sheets with pictures?
On the kindergarten subtraction page. Its last picture group works within 20: teen numbers to cross out in rows of 5, and two ten frames for facts like 13 − 4 = 9. This page prints numbers and word problems only.
Can I save a subtraction within 20 worksheet as a PDF?
Yes, through your browser: press Print, then choose Save as PDF in your browser's print window. The answer key saves with the sheet as page 2. Each press of Make a new sheet makes a different page to save.
All 19 sheet types
Numbers only, within 20 9
Count back 1, 2 or 3, starting from 11 to 20Thirty facts that take away 1, 2 or 3 from a number between 11 and 20, once each. For 12 − 3 = 9 the pupil says 11, 10, 9 and passes ten on the way. The Common Core relates counting to subtraction (1.OA.5), and Texas 1.5(A) has pupils recite backward from any number up to 120.
Count up when the numbers are close, within 20When the answer is 1, 2 or 3, counting up beats counting back. For 19 − 16 = 3, start at 16 and say 17, 18, 19: three counts. All 30 facts of this kind that start from 11 to 20 are here once each. Counting back 16 single steps is where slips come from.
Subtract within 20, 20 side by sideTwenty facts side by side with every number 20 or less, such as 17 − 9 = 8, under the heading Subtraction: numbers up to 20. 0 is never taken away and no number is subtracted from itself, so every answer is at least 1. Common Core 1.OA.6 sets grade 1 to add and subtract within 20.
Show all 19 sheet types (16 more)
Numbers only, within 20, continued
Subtract within 20, 30 stackedThe same rules with one number above the other, 13 over 8 with a line beneath: 13 − 8 = 5. 190 different facts fit, and they are dealt like a shuffled deck, so a page of 30 repeats nothing. Stacked is the form column subtraction uses.
Take away 10 from a teen numberThe partner page: take the ten and the ones are left, 14 − 10 = 4. At the opening count of 18 the 9 facts from 11 − 10 to 19 − 10 are printed twice each. Put it beside the take away the ones sheet and ask which part of 14 went each time.
Take away from 20, all 19 facts onceEvery fact that starts from 20, as far as 20 − 19, once each and shuffled. 20 − 6 = 14 is 10 − 6 = 4 with a ten in front. When 10 or more is taken away, as in 20 − 13 = 7, the answer is the number that goes with 3 to make 10.
Take away the ones, 16 − 6 styleThe number taken away matches the ones digit, so only the ten is left: 16 − 6 = 10. The Common Core describes the numbers 11 to 19 as a ten and some ones (1.NBT.2), and this sheet is that sentence as a subtraction. At the opening count the 9 facts are printed twice each, 18 problems.
Teen minus teen, the tens cancelBoth numbers are teens, so the two tens cancel and only the ones are left: 17 − 12 = 5 because 7 − 2 = 5. Counting back 12 single steps gets there slowly. Ask pupils to cover both tens with a finger and read what remains.
Teen number minus ones, no crossing tenFacts that stay inside the teens, such as 19 − 4 = 15. Only the ones change, 9 − 4 = 5, and the ten is untouched. None of the 36 facts here is a basic fact with a one-digit answer, so a pupil cannot lean on memory and has to see the ten and the ones.
Missing number sheets 3
Equals sign first, 5 = ___ − 3 styleThe answer comes first and the blank sits after the equals sign. 5 = ___ − 3 is the Common Core's own example under 1.OA.8, and Texas prints the same one in 1.3(B). The missing number is 8, because 8 − 3 = 5. Every number on the page is 20 or less.
Missing number taken away, 12 − ___ = 7 styleThe middle number is a blank: 12 − ___ = 7. The pupil can count up from 7 to 12 or take 7 away from 12, and either way the blank is 5, since 12 − 5 = 7. The Common Core asks grade 1 for the unknown number in any place (1.OA.8), and Texas 1.5(F) does too.
Missing start number, the blank comes firstThe first number is hidden, so a line reads: blank, take away 6, equals 9. Add the two numbers you can see, 9 + 6 = 15, and the fact is 15 − 6 = 9. A pupil who takes the 6 from the 9 by habit writes 3, so this sheet shows who reads the whole sentence before working.
Tens and 10 less 3
10 less than a 2-digit numberEach problem takes 10 from a number between 11 and 99, such as 47 − 10 = 37. The tens digit drops by 1 and the ones digit stays. Common Core 1.NBT.5 asks grade 1 to find 10 less mentally, without having to count, so keep the pace brisk.
10 less, numbers from 100 to 120Texas 1.5(C) takes 10 less up to 120. The start numbers from 100 to 109 are the hard ones, because the answer drops below 100 and loses a digit: 106 − 10 = 96. All 21 start numbers from 100 to 120 are printed once each.
Subtract tens from tens, 10 to 90Both numbers are multiples of 10 from 10 to 90, as Common Core 1.NBT.6 words it, and the answer may be 0. 70 − 30 = 40 is 7 tens take away 3 tens. There are 45 such facts, and the sheet prints 20 of them with no repeats.
Word problems within 20 4
Compare stories within 20, how many more or fewerTwo amounts and a question about the gap. Maya has 12 shells and Ben has 7, so Maya has 12 − 7 = 5 more, and Ben has 5 fewer. Some questions say more and some say fewer. Comparing joins the grade 1 word problems in Common Core 1.OA.1 and Texas 1.3(B).
Take apart stories, find the other partNothing leaves in these stories. Leo has 16 beads, 7 of them are red and the rest are blue: 16 − 7 = 9 blue. The Common Core glossary calls the situation take apart with an addend unknown. Ask why a minus sign fits when nothing was taken.
Take from stories within 20, how many are leftFour short stories a page, each with a blank sentence and room to draw. There are 15 marbles in a box and Ava takes 8 out: 15 − 8 = 7. The start number is 11 to 20. Common Core 1.OA.1 and Texas 1.5(D) both ask for word problems within 20.
Take from stories, how many went awayThe story gives the start and what is left, and the change is unknown. There are 13 stickers in a box, Tess takes some out and 9 are left. The pupil writes 13 − ___ = 9 and finds 4, because 13 − 4 = 9. The Common Core glossary names this kind change unknown.
How this list was compiled: Sheet types, wording, stories and worked examples are own work; every worked example was computed twice on 2026-09-19 (by counting back one at a time and by adding the answer to the number taken away), and every count of facts (190, 36, 36, 19, 9, 9, 30, 30, 89, 21, 45, 36) was made by listing the facts. Number ranges, quoted examples and standard numbers were checked on 2026-09-19 against the full text of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (California Department of Education copy, https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/ccssmathstandardaug2013.pdf): 1.OA.1, 1.OA.4, 1.OA.5 (counting on 2 to add 2), 1.OA.6 with its examples 13 − 4 = 13 − 3 − 1 = 10 − 1 = 9 and 8 + 4 = 12 so 12 − 8 = 4, 1.OA.7 with 7 = 8 − 1 in its list, 1.OA.8 with its example 5 = ? − 3, 1.NBT.2 (11 to 19 as a ten and ones), 1.NBT.5 (10 less mentally, without having to count), 1.NBT.6 (multiples of 10 in the range 10 to 90, positive or zero differences), and glossary Table 1 for the names take from, take apart, compare, change unknown and addend unknown; and against the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Mathematics, 19 TAC 111.3 Grade 1 (https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/ch111a.pdf): 1.3(B) with its example 5 = [ ] − 3, 1.3(D), 1.3(F), 1.5(A), 1.5(C), 1.5(D), 1.5(E), 1.5(F). Checked on 2026-09-19 against Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtraction : subtraction on a number line as steps to the left, and the difference as the number that gives the first when added to the second. The sheet deals every fact once in a shuffled order before any repeats, takes no zero away and keeps every answer at least 1 (checked 2026-09-19). Licence: own work