Here in California, Bought and Pot will sound VERY similar or actually be the same sound.
Part 1: Common spelling for 0 as in Boat
boat / goat / soak / croak / soap / loan
note / tote / joke / mope / cope / stoke
no / go / so / mo
blow / glow / flow / show / snow / stow
toe / joe
sew
Part 2: Common spellings for bought / pot (as pronounced in California)
bought / thought / fought
got / lot / shot / not / top / lost/
caught / naught / naughty
dawn / lawn / fawn
pause / cause / cautious
long / song / stock / model
Part 3: Recognition: Which is different
Example: Boat Bought Boat
1. Soap Soap Sop
2. Cope Cop Cop
3. Note Not Note
4. Coat Caught Caught
5. Lawn Loan Lawn
6. Stock Stock Stoke
Part 4: Which do you hear?
1. Goat
2. Got
3. Stow
4. Loan
5. Lawn
6. Straw
7. Soak
8. Sought
1. Their boat got caught on a sand bar.
2. She couldn't cope with all the problems she had in her marriage, so she got divorced.
3. It isn't as easy to get a home loan as it was a few years ago.
4. He had to stoke the fire to keep it going since it was going out.
5. They normally use a lot of soap when they wash their dog before a competition.
6. How many different coats do you wear every winter?
7. Is it important for you to have a nice green lawn, or would you be happy with just rocks?