Can energy only be transferred by waves or particles?

Answer 1

Energy can be transferred by both waves and particles.

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Kinetic energy can be transferred through particle collisions. In low energy particle collisions, one body strikes another body, altering the second body's momentum, and/or deforming one or both bodies. In high-energy particle collision, the kinetic energy of the inbound particle is sufficient to disrupt the stable condition of the impacted particle, atom, or molecule.

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Energy is commonly transferred by waves, such as sound and ocean waves. In all such cases, one can argue that any given particle is briefly involved, however it is the waves, not any single particle, that carries the energy over long distances.

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Light (and all electromagnetic energies) is a special case in which photons behave as both waves and particles. Thus we can argue that, even in this case, energy is transferred by both waves and by particles.

Answer 2

No, energy can also be transferred through other mechanisms such as thermal conduction (transfer of heat through a material), convection (transfer of heat through movement of fluids), and radiation (transfer of energy through electromagnetic waves).