We had similar issues with Mason. He used to throw massive tantrums because I had no idea what he wanted.
At two he had a few select words that were clear like Dad and Sam (I wasn't mum till he was 3 lol) and drink.

The rest was his own lingo. Listen hard to what Lily is saying as I found that once I worked out what he was saying it was amazing how much I was missing. He would walk around saying something that sounded like cigar and one day the penny dropped that he was saying "circle".

We had a huge issue one day when he was saying " Sam, ya ya" over and over. I got some new signs for my toilet, bathroom and laundry that were heart shaped a few days earlier. He was saying "love heart" as that was what I called them.
He would count along with me but the words he would say sounded nothing like the numbers.

Get a picture book that has real pictures of all sorts of things. I'd spend ages going through and telling him what things were called.
Once he decided to talk it was amazing how much he was saying. It was almost as if he was memorising it all and waiting until he decided it was time to talk to us!