3rd grade area & perimeter word problems worksheets

Area and perimeter word problems for third grade wrap the formulas in stories about gardens, rugs, and picture frames. Rectangles carry most of the sheet, and some problems use an L-shaped figure your child splits into two rectangles. The story, not a label, says which measure to find.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core 3.MD.C.7, 3.MD.D.8.

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The kind of problems you'll get

Solve each problem. Show your work and include units.

  1. A rectangle is 3 cm by 2 cm. Find its area and perimeter.

    Answer: Area: 6 square cm. Perimeter: 3 plus 2 plus 3 plus 2 = 10 cm.

Most problems on this sheet sit beside a picture, model or diagram, so this is the worked example the sheet itself prints. The answer key on page two prints the answer under every problem.

Every print pulls a fresh set of problems at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling never gets the same sheet.

What's on each sheet

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key after the problems.

How to teach this

Have your child underline the asking words before computing: needs a fence, covers the floor, goes around. Then sketch the rectangle in the work space and label both sides. For the L-shaped problems, draw the cutting line that splits the figure into two rectangles, find each area, and add. The sketch does more than the formula at this grade.

Watch for: Kids run the right formula on the wrong question, multiplying the sides of a fence problem. Sort the story words together first: fence, frame, ribbon, and walk around mean perimeter; tile, carpet, paint, and cover mean area. Kids add just the two labeled sides for perimeter, getting 13 instead of 26. A rectangle has four sides; the story only mentions two because the other two match. Kids write area answers in plain units. Space inside is measured in squares, so area answers need square units, like 18 sq ft.

Common questions about area & perimeter word problems

How does my child know whether to find area or perimeter?
The story says it without naming it: fencing a garden or framing a photo is perimeter, tiling a floor or covering a table is area. Learning to hear that is the skill this sheet practices.
What are the L-shaped problems?
Rectilinear figures, from 3.MD.C.7: an L-shape that splits into two rectangles. Your child finds each rectangle's area and adds them. The answer key shows the split, so you can see the two pieces.

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Aligned to Common Core 3.MD.C.7, 3.MD.D.8. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 240, updated September 2026.

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