Which homonymous word can mean "a part of a plant" and "to divide something into parts or portions"?

The homonymous word you’re looking for is "segment."

In botanical terms, a "segment" refers to a part of a plant, usually describing a section of a leaf or a fruit, or any fragmented part of the plant structure. The segments can be crucial for the classification and identification of various plant species.

On the other hand, to "segment" something means to divide it into parts or portions. This can apply in various contexts, such as market segmentation in business, where a market is divided into distinct groups of consumers, or in data segmentation, where data is partitioned into manageable pieces for analysis.

The dual meanings of "segment" illustrate how language can exhibit versatility, where a single term encapsulates distinct but related concepts across different fields, such as botany and general usage, reflecting both physical structures and abstract divisions.