Sentence:  The two in the bed knew each other as old people know the partners with whom they have shared the same bed for <WSD>many</WSD> years , and they needed to say no more . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `as' or `too' or `so' or `that'; amounting to a large but indefinite number