Sole has 14 different meanings across 4 categories:
Noun · Verb · Adjective · Proper Noun
the underside of footwear or a golf club
"I need to clean the sole of my running shoes before they get dirty again during our morning jog."
lean flesh of any of several flatfish
"The chef carefully filleted the sole to ensure it was fresh enough for our dinner special."
the underside of the foot
"After running barefoot on the hot sand, I rubbed my sore sole to relieve the burning pain."
right-eyed flatfish; many are valued as food; most common in warm seas especially European
"We caught a sole while fishing in the Mediterranean, which is known for being a delicious flatfish found mostly in warm European waters."
A wooden band or yoke put around the neck of an ox or cow in the stall.
"The athlete carefully applied tape to his sole before stepping onto the court for the match."
A pond or pool; a dirty pond of standing water.
The bottom or plantar surface of the foot.
In plain English: A sole is the bottom part of your foot that touches the ground when you walk.
"The fisherman pulled his sole from the muddy bottom of the lake."
To pull by the ears; to pull about; haul; lug.
"After walking barefoot for hours, I rushed to the cobbler's shop to have them replace my worn-out leather soles."
to put a sole on (a shoe or boot)
In plain English: To sole means to put a new bottom on a shoe so it won't wear out.
"He decided to sole the shoes himself before they were thrown away."
Usage: Avoid using this verb in modern conversation, as it is archaic and rarely understood today. Instead of saying someone was "solen," simply use more common synonyms like drag or carry when referring to moving something heavy.
only
"After selling her house, the garden became her sole source of joy during the winter months."
In plain English: Sole means being the only one of its kind with no others around.
"The sole survivor of the crash walked away without any injuries."
A sea area, corresponding to the Sole Bank, to the north of FitzRoy
"The captain steered the trawler toward the sole, a deep-water fishing ground just off the coast."
The word "sole" comes from the Latin word sōlus, which means "alone" or "single." It originally referred to being solitary before taking on its current meaning of a single foot or bottom surface.