Multiplication and divisionGrades 4–5
3-digit by 2-digit multiplication worksheets
This generator prints stacked multiplication problems such as 347 × 26, each with blank rows under it for partial products. Change the digit counts, layout and problem count, then print the sheet with an answer key or save a PDF.
- Fresh problems every time
- Answer key on its own page
- Print or PDF, Letter or A4
- Free, no sign-up
On this page
Where this skill fits
Multiplying a three-digit number by a two-digit number is the point where the standard algorithm stops being a trick and becomes necessary. Most students meet it late in fourth grade or during fifth grade, after they can multiply a three-digit number by a single digit and after they have worked through 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication. The new demand is stamina: two full rows of partial products, a placeholder zero, and a final addition, all without losing a carried digit.
Because the work is long, errors tend to hide in the bookkeeping rather than in the times tables. That is why this sheet leaves blank rows under each problem. A student who writes both partial products can be corrected precisely, and a teacher or parent can see which row went wrong.
Settings that matter
- Operation is set to Multiplication for this page. The same menu also offers addition and subtraction; the regrouping menu appears only for those two.
- Digits in the first number and Digits in the second number are 3 and 2 on this page. If you type a smaller number for the first one, the generator swaps them so the longer factor always sits on top. The first number can go up to 6 digits and the second up to 5, which makes the same sheet useful for a student who is ready for 4-digit by 2-digit problems.
- Layout should stay on Vertical (stacked). Only that layout includes the working rows; the Horizontal layout prints a single line per problem with no room for partial products.
- Number of problems runs from 6 to 40. Twelve fits comfortably on one page and is plenty for a first session. Six is a good diagnostic sheet.
Worked example: 347 × 26
Write 347 on top and 26 beneath it, lining up the ones.
- Multiply 347 by the 6 in the ones place. 6 × 7 = 42: write 2, carry 4. 6 × 4 = 24, plus the carried 4 is 28: write 8, carry 2. 6 × 3 = 18, plus 2 is 20. The first partial product is 2,082.
- Move to the second row and write a 0 in the ones place. That zero is there because the next digit, the 2, really means 20.
- Multiply 347 by 2. 2 × 7 = 14: write 4, carry 1. 2 × 4 = 8, plus 1 is 9. 2 × 3 = 6. With the placeholder zero, the second partial product is 6,940.
- Add the rows: 2,082 + 6,940 = 9,022.
A quick check: 26 is close to 25, and 347 × 25 is 8,675. Add one more 347 and you get 9,022. An estimate such as 350 × 25 ≈ 8,750 also tells the student the answer should be near nine thousand.
Reading the answer key
The key prints only the final product, so ask students to compare their partial products to their own work when an answer is wrong. Three patterns are common.
- An answer about a tenth of the right size. The placeholder zero was skipped, so the second row was added one place too far to the right.
- Correct digits with one wrong digit in the middle. A carried number was forgotten or added to the wrong column, usually in the first row.
- A product that is right until the last step. The multiplication was fine and the final addition slipped, often because the rows were not lined up by place value.
Estimating before multiplying catches the first pattern quickly. Rounding both factors (350 × 30, for example) takes a few seconds and gives the student a target to compare with.
Next steps
When these feel automatic, move on to long division worksheets, which use the same place-value habits in reverse. If times tables are still slowing the work down, a short math minute drill before each session helps more than extra long problems do.