CL65 CAPT WAS NOT SURE HE HAD CLRNC INTO POS AT HOU.

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GND CTL ISSUED TAXI INSTRUCTIONS TO HOLD SHORT OF RWY 12L ON TXWY C. WHILE HOLDING SHORT; GND CTL HANDED US OVER TO TWR CTL. TWR CLRED US TO CROSS RWY 12L ONTO RWY 12R. THIS CLRNC HAD US CROSS RWY 12L AND RWY 17. AFTER XING BOTH RWYS; WE HELD SHORT OF RWY 12R; JUST BRIEFLY; SO I COULD VERIFY WITH MY FO THAT WE WERE INDEED CLRED ONTO RWY 12R. WE BOTH AGREED THAT WE WERE CLRED ONTO RWY 12R. I CROSSED THE HOLD SHORT LINE FOR RWY 12R AND CONTINUED ONTO TXWY C WHICH LED INTO THE DISPLACED THRESHOLD FOR RWY 12R. FROM THE HOLD SHORT LINE FOR RWY 12R TO THE DISPLACED THRESHOLD IS ABOUT 200 FT OR SO; ABOUT 20 SECONDS OF TAXI TIME. WHILE ON THE DISPLACED THRESHOLD AND ALIGNING THE ACFT; TWR CLRED US 'INTO POS AND CLRED TO TAKE OFF ON RWY 12R. AN UNEVENTFUL TKOF AND DEP WAS MADE; FOLLOWED BY A NORMAL LNDG AT OUR DEST. TWR NEVER QUESTIONED OUR POS XING THE HOLD SHORT LINE FOR RWY 12R OR AS WE POSITIONED OURSELVES ONTO THE DISPLACED THRESHOLD. IT JUST SEEMED THAT AS WE WERE POSITIONED ON THE RWY WE WERE BEING TOLD TO POS AND CLRED FOR TKOF. THE FACT THAT NOTHING WAS SAID BY TWR; AND THERE WAS NO ACFT ON FINAL MAKES ME THINK THAT WE WERE WHERE WE WERE TOLD TO BE. HIND SIGHT ALWAYS BEING 20/20; I SHOULD HAVE ASKED THE CTL TWR AS WELL AFTER QUERYING WITH MY FO BEFORE TAXIING ONTO THE DISPLACED THRESHOLD FOR RWY 12R. ALSO WE SHOULD HAVE CLARIFIED WITH THE TWR CTLR ON THE PHRASE 'CLRED TO CROSS RWY 12L ONTO RWY 12R.' THAT WAS NOT STANDARD PHRASEOLOGY; AND POSSIBLY WE BOTH MISUNDERSTOOD THE TAXI INSTRUCTION. THE CTLR COULD HAVE INSTRUCTED US TO 'CROSS RWY 12L TO RWY 12R.' EITHER WAY WE SHOULD HAVE CLARIFIED THE INSTRUCTIONS WITH THE CTLR.