mallet

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A short-handled hammer, usually with a cylindrical head of wood, used chiefly to drive a chisel or wedge.
• noun A similar tool with a rubber, leather, or plastic head, used to strike a surface without damaging it.
• noun Sports A long-handled implement used to strike a ball, as in croquet and polo.
• noun Music A light hammer with a rounded head for striking a percussion instrument.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A small beetle or wooden hammer used by carpenters, stonecutters, printers, etc., chiefly for driving another tool, as a chisel, or the like. It is wielded with one hand, while the heavier mall requires the use of both hands.
• noun The wooden hammer used to strike the balls in the game of croquet.
• noun A dental hammer or plugger. See hammer.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun A small maul with a short handle, -- used esp. for driving a tool, as a chisel or the like; also, a light beetle with a long handle, -- used in playing croquet.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A small maul with a short handle, used especially for driving a tool, as a chisel or the like.
• noun A weapon resembling the tool, but typically much larger.
• noun A light beetle with a long handle used in playing croquet.
• noun The stick used to strike the ball in the sport of polo.
• verb To strike with a mallet.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a light drumstick with a rounded head that is used to strike such percussion instruments as chimes, kettledrums, marimbas, glockenspiels, etc.
• noun a sports implement with a long handle and a head like a hammer; used in sports (polo or croquet) to hit a ball
• noun a tool resembling a hammer but with a large head (usually wooden); used to drive wedges or ram down paving stones or for crushing or beating or flattening or smoothing