Using 2nd Grade Math Worksheets to Teach 3-Digit Subtraction With ... - Free Printable

Let’s solve each subtraction problem step by step. Remember, we’re subtracting without regrouping — that means in every column (ones, tens, hundreds), the top number is bigger than or equal to the bottom number, so we can just subtract straight down.

We’ll go row by row, left to right.

---

First Row:

1. m: 486 - 344
Ones: 6 - 4 = 2
Tens: 8 - 4 = 4
Hundreds: 4 - 3 = 1
→ 142

2. $: 789 - 175
Ones: 9 - 5 = 4
Tens: 8 - 7 = 1
Hundreds: 7 - 1 = 6
→ 614

3. p: 889 - 468
Ones: 9 - 8 = 1
Tens: 8 - 6 = 2
Hundreds: 8 - 4 = 4
→ 421

4. u: 497 - 182
Ones: 7 - 2 = 5
Tens: 9 - 8 = 1
Hundreds: 4 - 1 = 3
→ 315

---

Second Row:

5. $: 857 - 547
Ones: 7 - 7 = 0
Tens: 5 - 4 = 1
Hundreds: 8 - 5 = 3
→ 310

6. o: 744 - 344
Ones: 4 - 4 = 0
Tens: 4 - 4 = 0
Hundreds: 7 - 3 = 4
→ 400

7. $: 975 - 565
Ones: 5 - 5 = 0
Tens: 7 - 6 = 1
Hundreds: 9 - 5 = 4
→ 410

8. l: 896 - 344
Ones: 6 - 4 = 2
Tens: 9 - 4 = 5
Hundreds: 8 - 3 = 5
→ 552

---

Third Row:

9. t: 736 - 425
Ones: 6 - 5 = 1
Tens: 3 - 2 = 1
Hundreds: 7 - 4 = 3
→ 311

10. $: 983 - 152
Ones: 3 - 2 = 1
Tens: 8 - 5 = 3
Hundreds: 9 - 1 = 8
→ 831

11. y: 839 - 223
Ones: 9 - 3 = 6
Tens: 3 - 2 = 1
Hundreds: 8 - 2 = 6
→ 616

12. n: 689 - 326
Ones: 9 - 6 = 3
Tens: 8 - 2 = 6
Hundreds: 6 - 3 = 3
→ 363

---

Fourth Row:

13. $: 755 - 240
Ones: 5 - 0 = 5
Tens: 5 - 4 = 1
Hundreds: 7 - 2 = 5
→ 515

14. i: 489 - 388
Ones: 9 - 8 = 1
Tens: 8 - 8 = 0
Hundreds: 4 - 3 = 1
→ 101

15. $: 486 - 133
Ones: 6 - 3 = 3
Tens: 8 - 3 = 5
Hundreds: 4 - 1 = 3
→ 353

16. b: 677 - 141
Ones: 7 - 1 = 6
Tens: 7 - 4 = 3
Hundreds: 6 - 1 = 5
→ 536

---

Now let’s match each answer to its letter and use them to solve the riddle at the bottom:

The riddle says:
What did the duck say after he went shopping?

And gives us this sequence of numbers with blanks above them:

```
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
421 315 311 101 311 400 363 142 616 536 101 552 552
```

Wait — looking again, it's actually written as:

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

So we need to find which letter corresponds to each number.

Let’s make a key from our answers:

- m → 142
- $ → appears multiple times: 614, 310, 410, 515, 353 — but wait! In the riddle, we see 142, 616, etc. So maybe the “$” symbol isn’t part of the code? Let’s check the price tags.

Actually, looking back at the worksheet: each problem has a letter on the price tag (like m, p, u, o, l, t, y, n, i, b) OR a dollar sign ($). But in the riddle, they only give numbers — no symbols. And the instruction says: “Use the letters on the price tags to solve the riddle.”

That means we should ignore the problems marked with “$” for the riddle? Or maybe not — because some “$” problems have answers that appear in the riddle.

Wait — let’s list ALL the answers with their labels:

From above:

Label | Answer
------|-------
m | 142
$ | 614 ← probably not used? But 616 is in riddle...
p | 421
u | 315
$ | 310
o | 400
$ | 410
l | 552
t | 311
$ | 831
y | 616
n | 363
$ | 515
i | 101
$ | 353
b | 536

Now look at the riddle numbers:

Sequence:
421, 315, 311 → p, u, t → “put”
101, 311 → i, t → “it”
400, 363 → o, n → “on”
142, 616 → m, y → “my”
536, 101, 552, 552 → b, i, l, l → “bill”

Putting it together:

“Put it on my bill!”

That makes sense — a duck going shopping might say “Put it on my bill!” as a pun (duck bill + shopping bill).

Let’s double-check:

- 421 = p
- 315 = u
- 311 = t → “put” ✔
- 101 = i
- 311 = t → “it” ✔
- 400 = o
- 363 = n → “on” ✔
- 142 = m
- 616 = y → “my” ✔
- 536 = b
- 101 = i
- 552 = l
- 552 = l → “bill” ✔

Perfect!

Final Answer:
Put it on my bill!