What is the difference between ate and eight?

Ate is the past tense of the verb eat. Eight is the number 8.

How do I remember ate vs eight?

If you are talking about food or eating, use ate . If you are counting, use eight : there are eight chairs in the classroom.

Why do ate and eight sound the same?

They are homophones — words with the same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings. English has many pairs like this.

Level: A2

Ate vs Eight

Ate and eight sound the same but mean very different things. Practice choosing the right one with the example sentences below.

🔍 Confused words · pair 6 of 54 ⏱ about 5 minutes 🔊 every sentence has audio

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For Matching Game quizzes, choose sentences that include more than one of the words below. If you pick sentences with only one word, the quiz will automatically add a sentence using another word.

Ate – means “past tense of eat.”
She ______ breakfast early today. – ate
After a long walk, we ______ at the cafe by the river. – ate
They ______ dinner together. – ate
By the time we arrived, the guests had ______ everything. – ate
He ______ nothing for lunch, so he was hungry all afternoon. – ate
The kids ______ popcorn at the movie. – ate
The children ______ all their vegetables without complaining. – ate
While watching the movie, I ______ too much popcorn. – ate
Mom ______ her lunch outside. – ate
We ______ all the cookies. – ate
The dog ______ my homework. – ate
After practice, the whole team ______ together at a diner. – ate
He ______ breakfast late because he missed his alarm. – ate
They ______ everything on their plates. – ate
Even though she wasn’t hungry, she ______ a small salad. – ate
I ______ rice for dinner. – ate
Because the soup was delicious, everyone ______ two bowls. – ate
I ______ pizza for lunch. – ate
He ______ alone at his desk. – ate
Last night, I ______ something I had never tried before. – ate
He ______ his food in a hurry. – ate
The students ______ lunch outside because the weather was nice. – ate
Who ______ the last piece of chocolate from the box? – ate
I ______ soup when it was cold. – ate
My cat ______ the fish. – ate
The little boy ______ his dinner and asked for more. – ate
I ______ the cake my sister made yesterday. – ate
She quickly ______ her sandwich before class started. – ate
The children ______ lunch at noon. – ate
My friends and I ______ pizza at the new restaurant downtown. – ate
You ______ too much candy. – ate
He ______ my sandwich by mistake. – ate
We ______ apples from the tree. – ate
When I was a child, I ______ ice cream every summer day. – ate
The dog ______ his food as soon as I filled the bowl. – ate
Who ______ my fries? – ate
She ______ her favorite food last night. – ate
They ______ quietly while listening to music. – ate
Before the meeting, she ______ a snack to stay focused. – ate
We ______ at a new restaurant. – ate
Eight – means “the number 8.”
She has ______ cats at home. – eight
There are ______ chairs in the room. – eight
My sister is ______ years old. – eight
He bought ______ apples at the store. – eight
We need ______ plates for dinner. – eight
The clock struck ______. – eight
There are ______ students in my group. – eight
I woke up at ______ o’clock. – eight
She counted to ______ out loud. – eight
He scored ______ points in the game. – eight
Mom made ______ sandwiches. – eight
They waited for ______ minutes. – eight
We need ______ volunteers. – eight
The spider has ______ legs. – eight
I saw ______ ducks at the lake. – eight
He finished ______ chapters last night. – eight
The box holds ______ toys. – eight
She received ______ letters. – eight
There were ______ questions on the test. – eight
We collected ______ stamps. – eight
My team has ______ players. – eight
It costs ______ dollars. – eight
He read ______ stories before bed. – eight
Our group has ______ members. – eight
The meeting starts at ______. – eight
I have ______ pencils in my box. – eight
She solved ______ puzzles today. – eight
The show begins at ______ sharp. – eight
We rode ______ buses on our trip. – eight
He practiced for ______ hours. – eight
She cooked ______ eggs for breakfast. – eight
They gave me ______ reasons to stay. – eight
I drew ______ circles on the page. – eight
There are ______ windows in the house. – eight
Dad bought ______ balloons. – eight
She picked ______ flowers. – eight
The shelf holds ______ books. – eight
They received ______ gifts. – eight
I ran ______ laps around the field. – eight
My score was ______ out of ten. – eight

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ate and eight?: Ate is the past tense of the verb eat. Eight is the number 8.
How do I remember ate vs eight?: If you are talking about food or eating, use ate. If you are counting, use eight: there are eight chairs in the classroom.
Why do ate and eight sound the same?: They are homophones — words with the same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings. English has many pairs like this.