plaice / floe / clod
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plaice
A flatfish that is very popular as an edible fish. It lives on the seabed and has a characteristic flat body shape.
Zum Abendessen gab es gebratene Scholle mit Salzkartoffeln.
For dinner there was fried plaice with boiled potatoes.
You can almost always recognize the meaning of 'Scholle' (plaice / floe / clod) from the context. If people are talking about food or a restaurant, the fish is meant. If it is about the Arctic or geology, a piece of ice or earth is meant. In the context of agriculture and gardening, it is a clod of earth.
Auf der Speisekarte stand frische Scholle.
Fresh plaice was on the menu.
When 'Scholle' (plaice) is meant as a fish, it is often mentioned together with how it is prepared. A very typical combination is 'gebratene Scholle' (fried plaice).
Ich bestelle mir eine gebratene Scholle mit Bratkartoffeln.
I'll order a fried plaice with fried potatoes.
In this meaning, 'Scholle' is often used as part of a compound noun that describes the type of material. The most common forms are 'Eisscholle' (ice floe) and 'Erdscholle' (clod of earth).
Das Schiff musste vorsichtig durch die Eisschollen navigieren.
The ship had to navigate carefully through the ice floes.
The expression 'die heimatliche Scholle' is a poetic or emotional expression for one's homeland or the land one comes from. It refers to the bond with one's own soil.
Nach vielen Jahren im Ausland kehrte er auf die heimatliche Scholle zurück.
After many years abroad, he returned to his native soil.
plate / record
'die Platte' and 'die Scholle' can both refer to a flat piece. 'Platte' usually means a solid, often processed piece of material, for example made of wood, metal, or stone. 'Scholle' more often means a piece that has broken off from a larger natural mass, especially ice or earth. In a field, a 'Scholle' can also be a firm clod of earth. The words can be confused because both things can be flat. 'Platte' fits better with materials and construction, while 'Scholle' fits better with nature, ice, and earth.
Nach dem Frost liegt eine große Scholle Erde neben dem Feldweg.
After the frost, there is a large clod of earth lying next to the field path.
Für das Regal brauchen wir noch eine stabile Platte aus Holz.
For the shelf, we still need a sturdy wooden slab.