174 Prepositions of time English ESL worksheets pdf & doc - Free Printable

Let’s go step by step to fill in each blank with the correct preposition from the word bank:

Word bank:
before, at, on, against, above, with, to, as, up, out

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1. Max was at the shops ___ his friends
→ Max is *with* his friends — they are together.
✔ with

2. Their dog ran to them ___ they arrived home.
→ The dog ran *before* they got home — it happened earlier.
✔ before

3. They travelled ___ school on the bus.
→ You travel *to* a place — destination.
✔ to

4. Everyone looked ___ at the flock of birds.
→ “Looked up” means looking toward the sky — birds fly high.
✔ up

5. Ivy brushed her teeth ___ she went to bed.
→ She did this *before* going to bed — common routine.
✔ before (Wait — we already used “before” in #2? Let’s check if duplicates are allowed.)

Looking back at the instructions: It says “Complete the sentences with prepositions.” and gives a list — but doesn’t say you can’t reuse words. However, usually in these worksheets, each word is used once. Let’s double-check.

Actually, let’s reassign carefully so no repeats unless necessary.

Wait — maybe #2 should be something else?

Re-examining #2: “Their dog ran to them ___ they arrived home.”

Could it be “as”? Like, “as they arrived” = while they were arriving? That also makes sense.

But “before” fits better logically — dogs often run to greet people before they fully enter.

But let’s hold that thought and look ahead.

#5: Ivy brushed her teeth ___ she went to bed → definitely “before”

So if both #2 and #5 want “before”, maybe one of them uses another word?

Wait — perhaps #2 is “as”? Let’s test:

“Their dog ran to them as they arrived home.” → This means during the moment of arrival — also logical.

And #5 must be “before” — brushing teeth happens prior to bedtime.

So let’s assign:

#2 → as
#5 → before

That avoids duplication for now.

6. Lucy’s mum was ___ work all day.
→ “at work” is the standard phrase.
✔ at

7. They were playing ___ a very good team.
→ Playing *against* a team — opponent.
✔ against

8. James got ___ of the swimming pool.
→ Got *out* of the pool — exited.
✔ out

9. The tall building rose high ___ the clouds.
→ Above the clouds — higher than.
✔ above

10. The teacher placed the books ___ the table.
→ On the table — surface contact.
✔ on

Now let’s list what we’ve used:

1. with
2. as
3. to
4. up
5. before
6. at
7. against
8. out
9. above
10. on

Check word bank:
before ✔
at ✔
on ✔
against ✔
above ✔
with ✔
to ✔
as ✔
up ✔
out ✔

All 10 words used exactly once! Perfect.

Final assignments:

1. with
2. as
3. to
4. up
5. before
6. at
7. against
8. out
9. above
10. on

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Final Answer:
1. with
2. as
3. to
4. up
5. before
6. at
7. against
8. out
9. above
10. on