playing vs bowing

playing and bowing both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
playing	Yes	No	No	No
bowing	Yes	Yes	No	No

As nouns, bowing is a hyponym of playing; that is, bowing is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than playing:

Other hyponyms of playing include piping, stopping, transposition.

playing (noun)	bowing (noun)
the action of taking part in a game or sport or other recreation	managing the bow in playing a stringed instrument
the act of playing a musical instrument	bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting
the performance of a part or role in a drama

playing (adjective)	bowing (adjective)
	showing an excessively deferential manner