30 2nd Grade Word Problems
Let’s learn why money word problems are an important part of 2nd-grade math and explore strategies to help students build confidence handling money in the real world.
Author
Tess Loucka
Published:
Nov 2025
Key takeaways
- • Solving 2nd grade word problems can help students strengthen valuable skills, such as reading, problem-solving, critical thinking, and common sense.
- • Word problems place math concepts into real-world contexts, teaching students how math can be applied to everyday life.
- • One-step word problems require one calculation while two-step word problems require two calculations.
In 2nd grade, as students learn how to add and subtract, setting them up for success means helping them understand where, why, and how addition and subtraction exist in their day-to-day life.
The best way to get this point across is through 2nd grade word problems, which strengthen students’ reading skills, critical thinking, problem-solving, and common sense, too.
Use the following 30 2nd grade addition and subtraction word problems to learn how addition and subtraction can be applied to real-life situations.
Table of contents
10 Addition Word Problems
Let’s start with 10 2nd grade math word problems covering addition.
1. Ruby has 1 puzzle. She got 2 more puzzles for her birthday. How many puzzles does Ruby have now?
Answer
2. Liam has 14 pencils. Casey buys 12 pencils and gives 6 to Liam. How many pencils does Liam have in total?
Answer
3. There are 3 parks in a town. The town council just agreed to build 1 more. Once the new park is built, how many parks will the town have?
Answer
4. Nicole has 22 stickers, and Martha has 35. If Martha gives Nicole 11 stickers, how many stickers will Nicole have in total?
Answer
5. Ms. Stevens’ class has 21 returning students and 2 new students. What is the sum of students in Ms. Stevens’ class?
Answer
6. The aquarium had 25 different types of fish. A generous donor donated 16 additional types of fish. Now, how many types of fish does the aquarium have in total?
Answer
7. Sasha buys 7 apples with her mom. They already have 3 apples at home. How many apples do they have in total?
Answer
8. Eric ran 18 miles in one week. The next week, he ran 21 miles. How many miles did Eric run in total?
Answer
9. Michael Jones starred in 28 movies and appeared in 15 plays. What is the sum of all performances?
Answer
10. In one day, Chelsea drinks 9 cups of water. Her brother drinks 10 cups. How many cups do they drink in total?
Answer
10 Subtraction Word Problems
Now, let’s work on 10 2nd grade math word problems covering subtraction.
1. If Justin has $50 and he spends $23, how much money will he have left?
Answer
2. If a fruit store has 44 peaches and sells 38 of them, how many peaches will the store have left?
Answer
3. Wendy took 39 photos and Kevin took 17. What is the difference between the number of photos they took?
Answer
4. An album has 18 songs. Lainey has listened to 6 of them. How many songs has Lainey not listened to?
Answer
5. Joseph’s mom gives him $20 for the book fair. He buys a book for $11. How much money does Joseph have left?
Answer
6. The public library has 27 books on nature. If 9 of those books get checked out, how many nature books will the library still have?
Answer
7. Dustin collected 28 shells. Emit collected 46. How many more shells did Emit collect than Dustin?
Answer
8. Amelia is saving up for a new pet fish. She has $9 and the fish costs $37. How much more money does Amelia need?
Answer
9. A book club had 15 members in its first week and 32 in its second week. How many more members were there in week two?
Answer
10. There are 13 fewer birds than monkeys at the zoo. There are 57 monkeys. How many birds are there?
Answer
10 2-Step Word Problems
Here are 10 2 step word problems 2nd grade students should know how to solve.
1. Ms. Shen’s class baked 66 cupcakes and Mr. Andrew’s class baked 54. If 103 cupcakes were sold, how many cupcakes are left?
Answer
2. A school has 98 2nd graders and 103 3rd graders. If 21 students were absent, how many students attended school?
Answer
3. Molly bought 2 apples, 2 peaches, and 3 plums. Her siblings ate 5 fruits the next day. How many fruits are left?
Answer
4. A music store had 34 music books and received 15 more. At the end of the week, they had 16 left. How many were sold?
Answer
5. Caleb has 18 video games and gives away 4. On his birthday, he gets 3 more. How many video games does Caleb have?
Answer
6. Maria hung up 9 posters and 3 fell down. Then she hung up 5 new posters and rehung the ones that fell. How many posters did she hang up?
Answer
7. Malina had 15 buttons and her friend gave her 45 more. Kayla has 20 buttons. How many more buttons does Malina have than Kayla?
Answer
8. There are 98 bulbs on a string of lights. At first 13 do not work, then 8 more stop working. How many bulbs work?
Answer
9. Lucas collected 65 cans of food and then 49 more. He lost 12 cans. How many cans does he have left?
Answer
10. Mrs. Smith has 18 blue bows and 21 red bows. She uses 9 bows for presents. How many bows does she have left?
Answer
About the Author
Tess Loucka
Tess Loucka discovered her passion for writing in high school and has not stopped writing since. Combined with her love of numbers, she became a math and English tutor, focusing on middle- and high-school-level topics. Since graduating from Hunter College, her goal has been to use her writing to spread knowledge and the joy of learning to readers of all ages.