TOEIC Link Part 5: cue versus queue
Cue and queue sound exactly alike, yet queue carries four extra silent letters and a completely different meaning. Cue is a noun (and sometimes a verb) meaning a signal or prompt to do something. Queue is a noun (and sometimes a verb) meaning a line of people, vehicles, or tasks waiting in order. Part 5 puts one into a sentence where the sound gives nothing away, so it checks whether you mean a signal or a line. For the wider set of look-alike traps, start with the commonly confused word pairs master index.
The core rule: signal versus line
- cue = a signal or prompt that tells someone to act (noun/verb). The manager gave the team their cue to begin the presentation. / The lights dimming was the cue for the demo to start. As a verb: The host cued the speaker to wrap up. It answers what told them to act? — the signal. Link cue to signal and prompt: it triggers an action.
- queue = a line of people or items waiting in order (noun/verb). Customers formed a long queue outside the branch. / Several print jobs are still in the queue. As a verb: Passengers queued at the gate. It answers what were they waiting in? — the line. Link queue to line and waiting list: it is about order and waiting.
The meaning does the memory work: a cue is short and sharp, like the signal it names; a queue is long, and so is its spelling — the extra letters trail behind like people waiting in line. One prompts; the other lines up.
Why Part 5 likes this pair
Because the two words are pronounced identically, only meaning can separate them. If the blank is about a signal to act, you need cue. If the blank is about a line of people or waiting tasks, you need queue.
The stage manager gave the actors their __ to enter.
A signal to act needs cue.
A long __ had formed at the customer service desk.
A line of waiting people needs queue.
Spotting the clue
Decide whether the sentence is about a prompt or a line:
- Is something signalling that an action should start? → choose cue (that was our cue to leave).
- Are people or items waiting in order? → choose queue (join the queue, next in the queue).
A quick test: can you replace the word with "signal" or "prompt"? Then it is cue. Can you replace it with "line" or "waiting list"? Then it is queue. Watch the surrounding words: cue often pairs with give, take, or on (take your cue, right on cue), while queue pairs with form, join, or in the (join the queue, in the queue). Because both function as sound-alike nouns and verbs, they sit alongside the other traps in the sound-alike verb pairs study guide.