The two terms of simile (طرفا التشبيه) may both be sensory, both conceptual, or one of each. The criterion is how the compared objects or notions are apprehended: by the outward senses or through intellect and conception.
CombinationTeaching example
Sensory–sensoryThe visible redness of a face compared with a rose
Conceptual–conceptualTwo abstract moral qualities compared in a shared respect
Sensory–conceptualVisible light compared with knowledge, which is not itself seen
This teaching classification introduces the types. The source also treats imagined and hypothetically conceived items, so “sensory” is not always synonymous with presently existing material objects.