A word is a sound – or A letter group – that has a specific meaning. “bear” and “bear” are certainly distinct words though. Even words that mean the same thing (like “automobile” and “motor car”) are different words (obviously).

One of the most striking examples of homophone are the pair “entrance” and “entrance”.

I would vote for “idiom” because it’s in fairly common usage. But it means something other than what the words themselves mean.

When we remove “this is becoming

a pattern for the Republican governor that contradicts his core argument to voters.