tout, taunt, taut, taught

To tout means "to brazenly solicit support" (or in rare cases "to deal in racehorses").

To taunt means “to ridicule” or “to mock.”

Taut means “tense” or “drawn tight.”

Taught is the past tense and past participle of the verb teach.

Example: The crowd taunted the candidate as he touted his belief that everyone should be taught the three Rs and expected to walk a taut line in order to graduate.