*A sign is "something that stands for something else" which would be like umbrella to mean rain or weather.
*A symbol is "something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention." This would be like Tinker Bell's outline representing Disney.
*A cliche is something that has been used so often that it loses it relevance or people simply don't like it anymore. A heart means love would be an example of this.
sources are wikipedia, and http://www.symbols.net/signsymbols/
