shop boy vs clerk

shop boy and clerk both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
shop boy	Yes	No	No	No
clerk	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, clerk is a hypernym of shop boy; that is, clerk is a word with a broader meaning than shop boy:

Other hypernyms of shop boy include boy, male child, salesclerk, shop assistant, shop clerk.

shop boy (noun)	clerk (noun)
a young male shop assistant	an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
	a salesperson in a store

shop boy (verb)	clerk (verb)
	work as a clerk, as in the legal business