* Adjective: Describing a noun, e.g., "He arrived early."
* Adverb: Modifying a verb, adjective, or another adverb, e.g., "They woke up early."
* Noun: Referring to the early part of something, e.g., "They lived through the early days of the war."
Let me know the sentence you have in mind, and I can tell you the specific part of speech for "early" in that context.