Yes, and this is what e.g. assoc and member do. But in those cases there's already a container, whereas in a hash table you would have to construct a new one.

Yes, and this is what e.g. assoc and member do. But in those cases there's already a container, whereas in a hash table you would have to construct a new one. I do think that multiple values are easier to use and result in more direct code; the problem is that they don't enforce correct usage the way a container does.