Is lives a noun or verb?

"Lives" can be both a noun and a verb, depending on how it's used in a sentence. Here's how:

Noun:

* Plural of "life": "She has lived many lives in her career."

* Means "the way someone lives": "The artist's lives were filled with creativity and passion."

Verb:

* Third person singular present tense of "live": "He lives in a small apartment."

* Present tense of "live" for more than one person: "My family lives in the country."

To determine if "lives" is a noun or verb, look at its function in the sentence. Is it the subject, object, or complement (noun)? Or does it describe an action (verb)?