tells

1. A reflexive, often habitual behavior, especially one occurring in a context that often features attempts at deception by persons under psychological stress (such as a poker game or police interrogation), that reveals information that the person exhibiting the behavior is attempting to withhold.
2. That which is told; a tale or account.
3. A private message to an individual in a chat room; a whisper.

1. (archaic outside of idioms) To count, reckon, or enumerate.

   All told, there were over a dozen.  Can you tell time on a clock?  He had untold wealth.

2. To narrate.

   I want to tell a story;  I want to tell you a story.

3. To convey by speech; to say.

   Finally, someone told him the truth.  He seems to like to tell lies.

4. To instruct or inform.

   Please tell me how to do it.

5. To order; to direct, to say to someone.

   Tell him to go away.

6. To discern, notice, identify or distinguish.

   Can you tell whether those flowers are real or silk, from this distance?  No, there's no way to tell.

7. To reveal.

   Time will tell what became of him.

8. To be revealed.
9. To have an effect, especially a noticeable one; to be apparent, to be demonstrated.

   Sir Gerald was moving slower; his wounds were beginning to tell.

10. To use (beads or similar objects) as an aid to prayer.
11. To inform someone in authority about a wrongdoing.

    I saw you steal those sweets! I'm going to tell!

12. (authorship) To reveal information in prose through outright expository statement -- contrasted with show

    Maria rewrote the section of her novel that talked about Meg and Sage's friendship to have less telling and more showing.

noun

A hill or mound, originally and especially in the Middle East, over or consisting of the ruins of ancient settlements.