The word shingle has several distinct meanings in the English language:

• A shingle is a flat covering element for a roof. Shingles are laid in overlapping rows, with half the shingle visible and half covered by the one above or by the roof ridge. Other roof coverings are shakes and tiles. See also: Shingle style.

• The term shingle can refer to an alluvial material of flat, rounded stones typically forming a beach at the seashore. Shingle is a coarse gravel formed by wave erosion of sedimentary rock formations.

• There is also a disease of the nerves known as shingles (always with a final s).