place vs rank

place and rank both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
place	Yes	No	Yes	No
rank	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

As nouns, rank is a hypernym of place; that is, rank is a word with a broader meaning than place:

Other hypernyms of place include social rank, social station, social status.

As verbs, place and rank are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of place include grade, order, range, rate.

As verbs, rank is a hypernym of place; that is, rank is a word with a broader meaning than place:

place (noun)	rank (noun)
a job in an organization	a row or line of people (especially soldiers or police) standing abreast of one another
the post or function properly or customarily occupied or served by another	the ordinary members of an organization (such as the enlisted soldiers of an army)
an abstract mental location	the body of members of an organization or group
the passage that is being read	relative status
a blank area	position in a social hierarchy
an item on a list or in a sequence
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
a general vicinity
a public square with room for pedestrians
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
any area set aside for a particular purpose
the particular portion of space occupied by something
where you live at a particular time
proper or designated social situation
a particular situation
proper or appropriate position or location

place (adjective)	rank (adjective)
	growing profusely
	complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
	conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
	very fertile; producing profuse growth
	very offensive in smell or taste

place (verb)	rank (verb)
recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something	assign a rank or rating to
assign a rank or rating to	take or have a position relative to others
take a place in a competition; often followed by an ordinal	take precedence or surpass others in rank
estimate
sing a note with the correct pitch
to arrange for
assign to a station
finish second or better in a horse or dog race
intend (something) to move towards a certain goal
put into a certain place or abstract location
locate
assign a location to
make an investment
assign to (a job or a home)
place somebody in a particular situation or location
identify the location or place of