ferry vs boat

ferry and boat both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
ferry	Yes	No	Yes	No
boat	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, boat is a hypernym of ferry; that is, boat is a word with a broader meaning than ferry:

ferry: a boat that transports people or vehicles across a body of water and operates on a regular schedule
boat: a small vessel for travel on water

ferry (noun)	boat (noun)
transport by boat or aircraft	a small vessel for travel on water
a boat that transports people or vehicles across a body of water and operates on a regular schedule	a dish (often boat-shaped) for serving gravy or sauce

ferry (verb)	boat (verb)
travel by ferry	ride in a boat on water
transport by ferry
transport from one place to another