Different means of identification (5)
I believe the answer is:
names
'identification' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'different means' is the wordplay.
'different' is an anagram indicator (letters placed in a different order).
'means' anagrammed gives 'NAMES'.
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for names that I've seen before include "People and things are known by them" , "Some people drop these to sound important" , "Paul, Pat, John" , "Titles" , "identification" .)