toe · tow
toe /toʊ/ · tow /toʊ/ — exact homophones. toe is a body part; tow means to pull a vehicle behind another.
🔊 These two words sound EXACTLY the same
/toʊ/
Different spelling. Different meaning. Identical pronunciation.
noun — one of the five digits on your foot — 'stub your toe' · 'big toe'
mouth shape
diphthong /oʊ/ — lips round and glide forward, like 'go', 'know'
toe
/toʊ/
vowel length
plays as: “stub your toe”
verb/noun — to pull a vehicle behind another, or the act of doing so — 'tow a car' · 'get a tow'
mouth shape
identical to toe — /toʊ/ — same diphthong, different meaning
tow
/toʊ/
vowel length
plays as: “tow the car”
Spelling spotlight
toe
-oe ending
like hoe, foe, doe
tow
-ow ending
like low, row, grow
Key difference
No pronunciation difference — both are /toʊ/: lips round and glide forward, exactly like go or know. toe is a body part; tow is about pulling something. Watch out for the -ow ending, though — it doesn’t always sound like this: tow and low rhyme, but cow and how use a completely different vowel, /aʊ/.
Example sentences
toe:“I stubbed my toe on the table leg.”
toe:“She has ten toes, just like everyone else.”
tow:“My car broke down and had to be towed.”
tow:“Illegally parked cars get towed away here.”
Hear it in the wild
Real speech from native speakers — the most reliable way to check a pronunciation, since automated audio can vary by device and browser.
toe
Hear native speakers say “toe” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
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tow
Hear native speakers say “tow” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
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How teachers explain this
Approved tips from the community, sorted by helpfulness
Word families
toe family ▸
tow family ▸
Related pairs
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