3rd Grade Word Problems: Types, Strategies and 40 Examples

Third grade word problems cover multiplication and division within 100 (equal groups, arrays and measurement), two-step problems with all four operations, addition and subtraction within 1,000, and measurement problems with time, mass, volume, area and perimeter, and the most reliable strategy is to picture the situation, draw a model, write an equation with a letter for the unknown, solve and check. Word problems are where 3rd graders show whether they understand operations or just compute. Below you’ll find the problem types, a five-step routine, how to teach models, and 40 ready-to-use examples sorted by type. For how word problems fit into the K–5 math progression, see our elementary math guide.

Why keywords don’t work

Many students learn that “in all” means add and “left” means subtract. It works on easy problems and fails on the ones that matter. Consider: “Maya had some stickers. She gave away 12 and has 30 left. How many did she have at first?” The word “left” suggests subtraction, but the answer comes from addition. Keywords teach students to skip the thinking. Instead, teach them to understand what is happening in the story.

A five-step routine

1. Read and retell. Read the problem twice. Retell it in your own words without the numbers: “A girl had stickers, gave some away and still has some.”
2. Picture it. What is happening? What do we know? What are we trying to find?
3. Draw a model. A bar model, an array, equal groups or a number line.
4. Write an equation. Use a letter for the unknown: s − 12 = 30.
5. Solve and check. Does the answer make sense? Estimate first, and check by putting the answer back into the story.

Post the routine on an anchor chart and use the same words every time.

Models that help

Bar models work for addition, subtraction, comparison and multiplication. Draw a bar for each quantity, label what you know and put a question mark on what you don’t.

Arrays show multiplication and division with rows and columns, perfect for problems about chairs, gardens or stickers on a page.

Equal groups drawings (circles with dots) work for “each” and “per” problems.

Number lines help with time and measurement.

Students should choose a model that fits the problem, not draw the same one every time.

40 example problems by type

Addition and subtraction within 1,000

1. The school library has 348 fiction books and 275 nonfiction books. How many books does it have?
2. A farmer picked 512 apples. He sold 286. How many apples are left?
3. Lena read 165 pages last month and some pages this month. She read 410 pages in all. How many pages did she read this month?
4. A bakery made some muffins. It sold 238 and had 74 left. How many muffins did it make?
5. Ben has 452 trading cards. Ava has 189 fewer than Ben. How many cards does Ava have?
6. The red team scored 615 points. The blue team scored 540. How many more points did the red team score?

Multiplication: equal groups and arrays

7. There are 6 tables with 4 students at each table. How many students are there?
8. A garden has 7 rows of carrots with 8 carrots in each row. How many carrots are there?
9. Each pack has 5 pencils. Mr. Diaz buys 9 packs. How many pencils does he buy?
10. A bus has 10 rows of seats with 3 seats in each row. How many seats are on the bus?
11. Ella puts 6 stickers on each page of her book. She fills 8 pages. How many stickers did she use?
12. A box holds 4 rows of 9 crayons. How many crayons are in the box?
13. Each spider has 8 legs. How many legs do 7 spiders have?
14. A muffin pan has 3 rows of 6 cups. How many muffins can bake in 4 pans?

Division: sharing and grouping

15. 24 cookies are shared equally among 6 friends. How many cookies does each friend get?
16. 35 students line up in rows of 5. How many rows are there?
17. Grandma has 42 flowers. She puts 7 flowers in each vase. How many vases does she need?
18. A class of 27 students splits into 3 equal teams. How many students are on each team?
19. There are 56 chairs set up in 8 equal rows. How many chairs are in each row?
20. Sam has 48 marbles and puts them into bags of 6. How many bags does he fill?
21. A coach has 63 water bottles for 9 teams. How many bottles does each team get?
22. 18 books are stacked equally on 3 shelves. How many books are on each shelf?

Unknown factor problems

23. Some boxes hold 8 markers each. There are 40 markers in all. How many boxes are there?
24. Kim plants 9 seeds in each pot and uses 54 seeds. How many pots does she use?
25. A tray holds 36 eggs in 4 equal rows. How many eggs are in each row?

Two-step problems

26. Max buys 3 packs of baseball cards with 8 cards each. He gives 5 cards to his sister. How many cards does he have left?
27. A class collects 45 cans on Monday and 36 cans on Tuesday. They pack them into boxes of 9. How many boxes do they fill?
28. Tickets cost $7 each. Ms. Lee buys 6 tickets and pays with $50. How much change does she get?
29. There are 4 shelves with 9 books each and 12 more books on a cart. How many books are there in all?
30. Ana has 72 beads. She uses 18 for a bracelet and shares the rest equally among 6 friends. How many beads does each friend get?
31. A farmer has 5 rows of 8 tomato plants. Rabbits eat 7 plants. How many plants are left?
32. Liam saves $6 a week for 8 weeks. He spends $29 on a game. How much money does he have left?

Time, mass and liquid volume

33. Recess starts at 10:15 and lasts 25 minutes. What time does it end?
34. A movie starts at 2:40 and ends at 4:05. How long is it?
35. A bag of flour has a mass of 5 kilograms. How much mass do 4 bags have?
36. A pitcher holds 3 liters of lemonade. How many liters do 7 pitchers hold?
37. A watermelon has a mass of 6 kilograms and a pumpkin has a mass of 14 kilograms. How much more mass does the pumpkin have?

Area and perimeter

38. A rug is 6 feet long and 4 feet wide. What is its area?
39. A rectangular garden is 9 meters long and 5 meters wide. What is its perimeter?
40. A rectangle has an area of 32 square inches. One side is 8 inches long. How long is the other side?

Teaching tips

Change the numbers, not the story. Use the same problem with smaller numbers first so students can focus on the situation, then increase the numbers.

Numberless problems. Present the story without numbers: “Some students are sitting at tables. Each table has the same number of students.” Ask what students notice and wonder, then add numbers one at a time.

Write their own. After solving a type, students write a problem of the same type for a partner. Writing problems shows whether they understand the structure.

Talk about strategies. Share two different models for the same problem and ask students which is clearer and why.

Supporting all learners

Reading can block students from showing what they know in math. Read problems aloud, pre-teach vocabulary like “each,” “equal” and “in all,” and use names and situations students recognize. Students with IEPs or 504 plans should get the accommodations their team decided, such as read-aloud or a multiplication chart. Fact fluency also matters: students who know their facts have more attention for the story. Our post on multiplication facts strategies helps build that foundation, and our division anchor chart post shows how to chart what to do with remainders.

Prep in less time

Word problems need many versions with different numbers and contexts. An AI worksheet tool can draft a set of problems of a specific type at your level, and you check the numbers and wording before using them. For grade-level standards behind each type, see our Common Core math standards for 3rd grade post.

Word problems pull together every skill in 3rd grade math. For the full K–5 picture and more activity ideas, visit our elementary math guide.