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.
floe / slab
A large, flat piece that has broken off from a larger mass, especially from ice or earth.
Die Eisbären sprangen von einer Eisscholle zur nächsten.
The polar bears jumped from one ice floe to the next.
clod
A clump of earth that forms when a field is plowed. It refers to a solid piece of farmland soil.
Nach dem Regen waren die Schollen auf dem Feld schwer und klebrig.
After the rain, the clods in the field were heavy and sticky.
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.
