Sentence:  His nurse had told him all about changelings, and how the little people would always try to steal a beautiful human child out of its cradle and put in its <WSD>stead</WSD> one of their own ailing, puking brats ... 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The position or function (of someone or something), as taken on by a successor. (from 15thc.)