How do you tell a meaningful dream from a coincidence?

Try writing each dream down as soon as you wake up, with the date, before anything happens. Be specific about what you think it predicts, then check the whole record later, including the dreams that did not seem to match. That helps separate a clear prediction from a resemblance noticed after the event.

It may also help to decide in advance what counts as a match. If the prediction is broad, ordinary events can fit it in several ways. A detailed record cannot settle every question, but it gives you something more reliable than memory alone.

A vivid match can be startling without proving where it came from. We tend to remember the uncanny ones, and a dream can feel more exact in retrospect than it did at the time. I’d keep an open mind, but I wouldn’t label it clairvoyance from a few examples.

There’s also a middle possibility: sometimes we pick up on clues without consciously putting them together. If something is already likely or there are hints around you, a dream could turn that into a vivid scenario. That doesn’t explain every apparent match, but it’s worth considering alongside coincidence and a paranormal interpretation.