The noun tell has 1 sense (no senses from tagged texts)
1. Tell, William Tell -- (a Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who was renowned for his skill as an archer; according to legend an Austrian governor compelled him to shoot an apple from his son's head with his crossbow (which he did successfully without mishap))
Overview of verb tell
The verb tell has 8 senses (first 8 from tagged texts)
1. (196) state, say, tell -- (express in words; "He said that he wanted to marry her"; "tell me what is bothering you"; "state your opinion"; "state your name")
2. (190) tell -- (let something be known; "Tell them that you will be late")
3. (75) tell, narrate, recount, recite -- (narrate or give a detailed account of; "Tell what happened"; "The father told a story to his child")
4. (60) order, tell, enjoin, say -- (give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority; "I said to him to go home"; "She ordered him to do the shopping"; "The mother told the child to get dressed")
5. (28) tell -- (discern or comprehend; "He could tell that she was unhappy")
6. (6) assure, tell -- (inform positively and with certainty and confidence; "I tell you that man is a crook!")
7. (4) tell, evidence -- (give evidence; "he was telling on all his former colleague")
8. (3) distinguish, separate, differentiate, secern, secernate, severalize, severalise, tell, tell apart -- (mark as different; "We distinguish several kinds of maple")