clench vs taking hold

clench and taking hold both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
clench	Yes	No	Yes	No
taking hold	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, taking hold is a hypernym of clench; that is, taking hold is a word with a broader meaning than clench:

clench: the act of grasping
taking hold: the act of gripping something firmly with the hands (or the tentacles)

Other hypernyms of clench include grasping, prehension, seizing.

clench (noun)	taking hold (noun)
the act of grasping	the act of gripping something firmly with the hands (or the tentacles)
a small slip noose made with seizing

clench (verb)	taking hold (verb)
hold in a tight grasp
squeeze together tightly