Free worksheets · Grade 4
Subtracting Multi-Digit Numbers with Regrouping Worksheet
Subtract 5- and 6-digit numbers with the standard algorithm, borrowing across zeros.
Free printable
Subtracting Multi-Digit Numbers with Regrouping
12 questions, one page, US Letter. Print it and do it on paper.
On the sheet: Subtract one place at a time, starting with the ones and moving left. When the top digit is smaller, borrow one from the next place to the left: it is worth ten in this place. If that place is a zero, keep moving left until you find a digit to borrow from. Put a comma in the answer every three digits from the right.
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About this worksheet
Subtracting big numbers works one place at a time, starting with the ones. When the top digit is smaller than the bottom one, borrow one from the next place to the left: it is worth ten in this place.
If the next place is a zero, there is nothing to borrow there yet, so keep moving left until a digit can lend, and regroup back down.
A worked example
70,015 − 32,408 = ?
- Ones: 5 is less than 8, so borrow from the tens. The 1 becomes 0, and 15 − 8 = 7.
- Tens: 0 − 0 = 0.
- Hundreds: 0 is less than 4, and the thousands are 0 too, so borrow from the ten thousands: the 7 becomes 6, the thousands become 9, and the hundreds become 10. 10 − 4 = 6.
- Thousands: 9 − 2 = 7. Ten thousands: 6 − 3 = 3.
Answer: 70,015 − 32,408 = 37,607
The common mistake
What it looks like: Taking the smaller digit from the bigger one in every column: for 5 − 8, writing 3.
Why it happens: The child knows 8 − 5 = 3 and turns the column around to avoid borrowing.
How to fix it: Always take the bottom digit from the top one. If the top is smaller, borrow first, then subtract: 15 − 8 = 7.
Ten minutes a day, on paper. We plan what comes next.
A printed page and a pencil. No screen, no login for your child. Snap a photo when they’re done: AI scores it, and what they missed comes back on the sheets that follow.
- Mon Subtracting Multi-Digit Numbers with Regrouping
- Tue What they missed, back again
- Wed The next step, when they’re ready
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