Why can water molecules store energy in more ways than neon atoms?

Water contains more atoms connected by chemical bonds.

Explanation:

Neon is a noble gas, it is monoatomic in nature, this implies that it has only one atom present.

If we compare neon with water, water has three atoms present, two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. These atoms are linked by chemical bonds. Energy is stored in each of these chemical bonds.

Hence water stores more energy than neon because it is polyatomic and contains chemical bonds.