Why specialization depends on the mission, not a fixed ship label

Are any types of warships too specialized for general use?

Mostly no; cruisers and destroyers are especially flexible, while specialized ships can still perform other tasks badly without that making their original design invalid.

Monitors and submarines have strong natural roles rather than serving as universally employable combatants. General use is a vague standard: a destroyer escort can attempt a battleship mission, but poor suitability reflects a mission mismatch rather than proof that specialization itself is a mistake. Cruisers and large destroyers come closest to general-purpose warships because they can move between scouting, escort, patrol, and combat tasks. Monitors and submarines remain valuable precisely because they accept limitations in exchange for unusual strength in bombardment or covert attack.