stick, paste, apply
貼 centers on attaching one thing to another with an adhesive or by pressing: sticking, pasting, or applying something like a label or plaster.
貼 combines 貝 (shell, historically associated with money or valuables) with 占, which likely contributes the sound. The original sense may relate to attaching or affixing something of value, but the exact historical development is uncertain.
Imagine using a shell (貝) as a weight to press down and stick (占) a poster to a wall. The shell helps paste it firmly in place.
For テン, picture sticking a ten-dollar bill onto a shell: ten -> テン, and you apply it with a dab of paste.
pasting; sticking; attaching; affixing; appending
patching (up); cutting a part and pasting a new one (e.g. a shoji door)
affixing; pasting; sticking
counter for doses of medicine, etc.
to paste; to stick; to affix
to tile (floor, wall, etc.)
bill poster
to label (someone as)
finishing coat of paper
temporary pasting
covering private parts (esp. actors during filming)
pasting (on) by hand; attaching (sticker, etc.) by hand
removing the weather stripping in spring
gluing; pasting
poster; placard; notice
to paste together
set-up box; rigid box of paper-coated cardboard
collage
adhesive skin patch; transdermal patch; medical patch
paste-up; collage