Subtraction Shopping worksheet with 3-digit subtraction problems and a riddle to solve.

Let’s solve this “Subtraction Shopping” riddle step by step.

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🎯 Goal:

1. Solve each 3-digit subtraction problem (no regrouping needed).
2. Match the letter on the price tag to the difference (answer).
3. Use the numbers at the bottom to find which letters spell out the riddle answer:
> “What did the duck say after he went shopping?”

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## ✏️ Step 1: Solve all subtraction problems

We’ll go row by row.

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Row 1:

- m: 486 – 344 = 142
- $: 789 – 175 = 614 → Wait, let’s double-check:
789 – 175:
9–5=4, 8–7=1, 7–1=6 → 614

- p: 889 – 468 =
9–8=1, 8–6=2, 8–4=4 → 421

- u: 497 – 182 =
7–2=5, 9–8=1, 4–1=3 → 315

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Row 2:

- $: 857 – 547 =
7–7=0, 5–4=1, 8–5=3 → 310

- o: 744 – 344 =
4–4=0, 4–4=0, 7–3=4 → 400

- $: 975 – 565 =
5–5=0, 7–6=1, 9–5=4 → 410

- l: 896 – 344 =
6–4=2, 9–4=5, 8–3=5 → 552

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Row 3:

- †: 736 – 425 =
6–5=1, 3–2=1, 7–4=3 → 311

- $: 983 – 152 =
3–2=1, 8–5=3, 9–1=8 → 831

- y: 839 – 223 =
9–3=6, 3–2=1, 8–2=6 → 616

- n: 689 – 326 =
9–6=3, 8–2=6, 6–3=3 → 363

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Row 4:

- $: 755 – 240 =
5–0=5, 5–4=1, 7–2=5 → 515

- i: 489 – 388 =
9–8=1, 8–8=0, 4–3=1 → 101

- $: 486 – 133 =
6–3=3, 8–3=5, 4–1=3 → 353

- b: 677 – 141 =
7–1=6, 7–4=3, 6–1=5 → 536

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## ✔ Now, map each letter to its difference:

| Letter | Difference |
|--------|----------|
| m | 142 |
| $ | 614 |
| p | 421 |
| u | 315 |
| $ | 310 |
| o | 400 |
| $ | 410 |
| l | 552 |
| † | 311 |
| $ | 831 |
| y | 616 |
| n | 363 |
| $ | 515 |
| i | 101 |
| $ | 353 |
| b | 536 |

> 💡 Note: Some problems have a “$” symbol instead of a letter — we ignore those for the riddle since only *letters* are used in the final answer.

So we keep only these:

| Letter | Difference |
|--------|----------|
| m | 142 |
| p | 421 |
| u | 315 |
| o | 400 |
| l | 552 |
| † | 311 |
| y | 616 |
| n | 363 |
| i | 101 |
| b | 536 |

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## 🔍 Step 2: Match the numbers at the bottom to letters

The riddle answer is spelled using these number sequences:

> 421 315 311 101 311 400 363 142 616 536 101 552 552

Let’s match each number to its letter:

- 421 → p
- 315 → u
- 311 → † → Hmm, what is †? Probably meant to be t (typo or symbol for ‘t’)
- 101 → i
- 311 → t (again)
- 400 → o
- 363 → n
- 142 → m
- 616 → y
- 536 → b
- 101 → i
- 552 → l
- 552 → l

So putting it together:

p u t i t o n m y b i l l

Wait — that doesn’t make sense. Let’s try reading it as words:

→ put it on my bill

That makes perfect sense! 😄

But wait — let’s check the letters again carefully.

Actually, the symbol “†” is likely meant to represent the letter “t” (as in “t” for “total” or just stylized).

So:

- 421 → p
- 315 → u
- 311 → t
- 101 → i
- 311 → t
- 400 → o
- 363 → n
- 142 → m
- 616 → y
- 536 → b
- 101 → i
- 552 → l
- 552 → l

→ P U T I T O N M Y B I L L

Grouped: Put it on my bill

That’s a classic joke punchline!

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## 🦆 Final Answer:

> “Put it on my bill.”

This is a playful riddle — the duck went shopping and said, “Put it on my bill!” — a pun on the duck’s *beak* (bill) and a store *bill* (invoice).

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✔ Answer: Put it on my bill.