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Excel: How to Use VLOOKUP to Return Multiple Columns

by Tutor Aspire

You can use the following syntax with the VLOOKUP function in Excel to look up a value in a range and return the corresponding values from multiple columns:

=VLOOKUP(G2,A2:E11,{3,4,5},FALSE)

This particular formula looks in the range A2:E11 and returns the corresponding values in columns 3, 4, and 5 where the value in column A is equal to G2.

Note: The FALSE argument tells Excel to look for exact matches instead of approximate matches.

The following example shows how to use this syntax in practice.

Example: Use VLOOKUP to Return Multiple Columns

Suppose we have the following dataset in Excel that shows information about various basketball teams:

We can use the following formula with VLOOKUP to look up the team “Pacers” in column A and return the corresponding values for points, assists, and steals:

=VLOOKUP(G2,A2:E11,{3,4,5},FALSE)

Note: After typing this formula, make sure you press Ctrl+ Shift + Enter.

The following screenshot shows how to use this formula in practice:

The VLOOKUP function returns the values in the points, assists, and steals columns for the row where the team contains “Pacers” in the name.

Note: You can find the complete documentation for the VLOOKUP function here.

Additional Resources

The following tutorials explain how to perform other common operations in Excel:

How to Compare Two Lists in Excel Using VLOOKUP
How to Find Unique Values from Multiple Columns in Excel
How to Filter Multiple Columns in Excel

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