What does penny mean?
Word: Penny
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Penny means a small British coin that is worth very little.
How do you spell penny?
Syllables: pen - ny
Tricky part: There are two n's in the middle. Children who hear only one n sound often write it with one.
Watch out for: peny, pennie, pany
Memory tip: Picture two coins standing side by side: they are the two n's in the middle of penny.
Idioms and Phrases
- the penny dropped: You suddenly got the point of something. Example: "I read the riddle three times, and then the penny dropped."
Penny in a sentence
Example 1: Grandpa gave me an old penny from London.
Example 2: The penny rolled under the sofa.
Example 3: Rohan keeps foreign coins, and his newest one is a penny.
Fun Fact
In Britain the short form for penny is p, so a price of 50p means fifty pence.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Champ
In which option are the given words arranged in alphabetical order?
1. pencil 2. penny 3. pen
a) 321
b) 213
c) 312
d) 132
Show answer
c) 312. Pen is the shortest and has nothing after its n, so it goes before pencil; c comes before n, so pencil is before penny.
Spellacadabra
Choose the option in which the following letters will fit in the given order: e, y
a) b_nn_
b) h_pp_
c) p_nn_
d) s_nn_
Show answer
c) p_nn_. Only p_nn_ takes e and then y; happy needs an a first, and bunny and sunny need a u.
Sound Check
Which of the following words rhymes with penny?
a) pony
b) sunny
c) any
d) bunny
Show answer
c) any. Any sounds like en-ee, so it rhymes with penny even though it is spelt with an a.
Jumble Tumble
Which option has letters that you can rearrange to form the name of a coin?
a) nypens
b) nypen
c) nypenn
d) nypan
Show answer
b) nypen. Nypen holds exactly the five letters of penny; the others swap in an a or add an s or a third n.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. When the penny dropped for Aarav, he ____.
a) fell asleep
b) lost a coin
c) understood at last
d) felt very cold
Show answer
c) understood at last
2. How many pennies make one British pound?
a) fifty
b) one thousand
c) ten
d) one hundred
Show answer
d) one hundred
