Decimal Subtracting Thousandths Worksheet

Subtracting decimals to the thousandths place is really a place-value skill wearing a subtraction costume, and this Decimal Subtracting Thousandths Worksheet gives fifth graders focused practice with it. Before a single digit is borrowed, students have to line the numbers up by place value, annex zeros wherever one number stops short, and keep the decimal points stacked in a straight column. Once the numbers are aligned, regrouping across the tenths, hundredths, and thousandths works exactly the way it does with whole numbers. This 5th Grade decimals worksheet walks students through that sequence three different ways so the habit sticks.

Start students on Part A, where four problems are already stacked and waiting. Each one regroups at least once, so students practice trading across the decimal columns without also having to set the problem up. Part B removes that scaffold: three problems are printed horizontally with unequal decimal places, and students rewrite each one inside the work box, adding the zeros that make the columns line up. Part C finishes with two real measurement word problems, one from a science lab and one from soccer practice, so students decide what the question is asking before they subtract. Work through Part A together, then let students finish Parts B and C on their own.

What’s Included

• One printable page with three sections: stacked subtraction, rewrite-and-solve, and word problems
• Four stacked decimal subtraction problems that all require regrouping
• Three problems with unequal decimal places to rewrite and align
• Two measurement word problems using grams and liters
• A complete answer key that models the lined-up rewrites

This worksheet helps kids in three ways. First, it separates setup from computation, so a student who can subtract but keeps misaligning the decimal point can see exactly where the breakdown happens. Second, the rewrite section makes annexing zeros a visible, deliberate step rather than something students forget under pressure. Third, the word problems put the skill into measurement contexts a fifth grader already understands, which is how the skill shows up on state assessments.

Teachers can use Part B as a quick exit ticket or project it and solve one problem together as a warm-up. Parents can extend the practice at the kitchen counter by weighing objects on a digital scale and subtracting the readings, or by measuring water in a bottle before and after a game. Pair this Decimal Subtracting Thousandths Worksheet with a place-value chart for students who still need the columns drawn for them.

Related Resources

• Subtracting Decimals Worksheet
• Subtract to Thousandths Decimal Worksheet
• Add/Subtract Decimals Worksheet
• Greater Than Less Than Inequalities Song