1. A legal sentence: James threw his garbage out into the park and received a penalty in which had had to clean up the park two times a week for 6 months in a row.
2. A certain financial payment for an early withdrawal from an investment or savings account: Mr. and Mrs. Lawson needed more money for their vacation and found out that they would have to pay a penalty by losing quite a lot of money if they did so.
3. In sports, a punishment for violating the rules: In some sports, a penalty can be that a player must be removed from the game.