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The MM states:
A monster is defined as any creature that can be interacted with and potentially fought and killed. (MM 4).
However, despite this apparent distinction, both the MM and DMG seem to treat the two terms as synonyms of each other. Even PHB spells such as hold monster state:
Choose a creature that you can see within range... (PHB 251).
Emphasis mine. Are the terms monster and creature actually synonyms? Or is there a difference that the manuals are just ignoring?
A creature is the superset of that contains monsters. As proof, consider the player characters themselves: they are creatures, clearly, but they are not monsters. Monsters are what you throw at the player characters so they can fight it and maybe kill it.
For specific spells which seem to equate "monster" and "creature" together: note that using a harmful spell against someone, like dominate monster, is an inherently adversarial act. Casting a harmful spell (that is meant to target monsters) at a creature is an act of fighting it, thereby putting that targeted creature into the basket of "monster."
To separate creatures from monsters strictly isn't too useful, if you accept that anyone that the PCs battle is moved to the basket of "monster," because the members of that "monster" set can change. A more useful distinction would be PC vs NPC, protagonist vs antagonist, or ally vs enemy.
