diff --git a/lib/strings/strings.ww b/lib/strings/strings.ww
index e66adeaa..1919c2db 100644
--- a/lib/strings/strings.ww
+++ b/lib/strings/strings.ww
@@ -7,10 +7,6 @@
 //     Hare strips ASCII whitespace via `bytes::ltrim(input,
 //     whitespace...)`; that needs `lib/bytes` variadic graduation
 //     (future commit).
-//   - `contains` is non-variadic. Hare's is
-//     `contains(haystack, needles: (str | rune)...)`
-//     (ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:9). Gated on `(str|rune)...`
-//     tagged-variadic gather + runtime — task #5.
 //   - `byteindex` / `rbyteindex` rune arms encode via
 //     `utf8.encoderune`; the legacy impls scanned for `r: u8` (an
 //     undocumented ASCII-only restriction that silently dropped
@@ -293,13 +289,26 @@ export fn rindex(haystack: str, needle: (str | rune)) (i32 | void) = {
 	return;
 };
 
-// contains — true iff `needle` occurs in `haystack`.
-// ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:9 (subset: Hare's variadic form
-// `(needles: (str | rune)...)` blocks on task #16).
-export fn contains(haystack: str, needle: (str | rune)) bool = {
-	match (byteindex(haystack, needle)) {
-	case let i: i32 => return true;
-	case void       => return false;
+// contains — true iff any of `needles` occurs in `haystack`.
+// ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:9.
+export fn contains(haystack: str, needles: (str | rune)...) bool = {
+	let i: i32 = 0;
+	for (i < needles.len) {
+		match (needles[i]) {
+		case let s: str  => {
+			match (byteindex(haystack, s)) {
+			case let bo: i32 => return true;
+			case void        => void;
+			};
+		};
+		case let r: rune => {
+			match (byteindex(haystack, r)) {
+			case let bo: i32 => return true;
+			case void        => void;
+			};
+		};
+		};
+		i += 1;
 	};
 	return false;
 };
diff --git a/lib/strings/stringstest.ww b/lib/strings/stringstest.ww
index bf1e2d1d..8faf6ef7 100644
--- a/lib/strings/stringstest.ww
+++ b/lib/strings/stringstest.ww
@@ -139,6 +139,20 @@ fn streq(a: str, b: str) bool = {
 	if ( strings.contains("hello world", "foobar")) { fail(); };
 	if (!strings.contains("こんにちは", 0x306Bu32: rune)) { fail(); };	// 'に'
 	if (!strings.contains("こんにちは", "ちは")) { fail(); };
+
+	// Variadic rows. ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:27.
+	signalled = 1600;
+	if ( strings.contains("hello")) { fail(); };
+	signalled = 1601;
+	if (!strings.contains("hello world", "world")) { fail(); };
+	signalled = 1602;
+	if (!strings.contains("hello", 'l')) { fail(); };
+	signalled = 1603;
+	if (!strings.contains("hello world", "foo", "world", 'x')) { fail(); };
+	signalled = 1604;
+	if ( strings.contains("hello", "foo", 'z', "bar")) { fail(); };
+	signalled = 1605;
+	if (!strings.contains("héllo", "x", 0xE9u32: rune)) { fail(); };
 };
 
 // ---- byteindex --------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/selfhost/cmd/w6c/main.combined.ww b/selfhost/cmd/w6c/main.combined.ww
index 0a859be8..231cda4a 100644
--- a/selfhost/cmd/w6c/main.combined.ww
+++ b/selfhost/cmd/w6c/main.combined.ww
@@ -1449,10 +1449,6 @@ export fn position(d: *decoder) i32 = {
 //     Hare strips ASCII whitespace via `bytes::ltrim(input,
 //     whitespace...)`; that needs `lib/bytes` variadic graduation
 //     (future commit).
-//   - `contains` is non-variadic. Hare's is
-//     `contains(haystack, needles: (str | rune)...)`
-//     (ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:9). Gated on `(str|rune)...`
-//     tagged-variadic gather + runtime — task #5.
 //   - `byteindex` / `rbyteindex` rune arms encode via
 //     `utf8.encoderune`; the legacy impls scanned for `r: u8` (an
 //     undocumented ASCII-only restriction that silently dropped
@@ -1735,13 +1731,26 @@ export fn rindex(haystack: str, needle: (str | rune)) (i32 | void) = {
 	return;
 };
 
-// contains — true iff `needle` occurs in `haystack`.
-// ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:9 (subset: Hare's variadic form
-// `(needles: (str | rune)...)` blocks on task #16).
-export fn contains(haystack: str, needle: (str | rune)) bool = {
-	match (byteindex(haystack, needle)) {
-	case let i: i32 => return true;
-	case void       => return false;
+// contains — true iff any of `needles` occurs in `haystack`.
+// ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:9.
+export fn contains(haystack: str, needles: (str | rune)...) bool = {
+	let i: i32 = 0;
+	for (i < needles.len) {
+		match (needles[i]) {
+		case let s: str  => {
+			match (byteindex(haystack, s)) {
+			case let bo: i32 => return true;
+			case void        => void;
+			};
+		};
+		case let r: rune => {
+			match (byteindex(haystack, r)) {
+			case let bo: i32 => return true;
+			case void        => void;
+			};
+		};
+		};
+		i += 1;
 	};
 	return false;
 };
diff --git a/selfhost/cmd/wwdump/main.combined.ww b/selfhost/cmd/wwdump/main.combined.ww
index 018cd310..043db4a3 100644
--- a/selfhost/cmd/wwdump/main.combined.ww
+++ b/selfhost/cmd/wwdump/main.combined.ww
@@ -1449,10 +1449,6 @@ export fn position(d: *decoder) i32 = {
 //     Hare strips ASCII whitespace via `bytes::ltrim(input,
 //     whitespace...)`; that needs `lib/bytes` variadic graduation
 //     (future commit).
-//   - `contains` is non-variadic. Hare's is
-//     `contains(haystack, needles: (str | rune)...)`
-//     (ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:9). Gated on `(str|rune)...`
-//     tagged-variadic gather + runtime — task #5.
 //   - `byteindex` / `rbyteindex` rune arms encode via
 //     `utf8.encoderune`; the legacy impls scanned for `r: u8` (an
 //     undocumented ASCII-only restriction that silently dropped
@@ -1735,13 +1731,26 @@ export fn rindex(haystack: str, needle: (str | rune)) (i32 | void) = {
 	return;
 };
 
-// contains — true iff `needle` occurs in `haystack`.
-// ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:9 (subset: Hare's variadic form
-// `(needles: (str | rune)...)` blocks on task #16).
-export fn contains(haystack: str, needle: (str | rune)) bool = {
-	match (byteindex(haystack, needle)) {
-	case let i: i32 => return true;
-	case void       => return false;
+// contains — true iff any of `needles` occurs in `haystack`.
+// ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:9.
+export fn contains(haystack: str, needles: (str | rune)...) bool = {
+	let i: i32 = 0;
+	for (i < needles.len) {
+		match (needles[i]) {
+		case let s: str  => {
+			match (byteindex(haystack, s)) {
+			case let bo: i32 => return true;
+			case void        => void;
+			};
+		};
+		case let r: rune => {
+			match (byteindex(haystack, r)) {
+			case let bo: i32 => return true;
+			case void        => void;
+			};
+		};
+		};
+		i += 1;
 	};
 	return false;
 };
diff --git a/selfhost/test/smoke.combined.ww b/selfhost/test/smoke.combined.ww
index ed442b72..536f0fb5 100644
--- a/selfhost/test/smoke.combined.ww
+++ b/selfhost/test/smoke.combined.ww
@@ -1340,10 +1340,6 @@ export fn position(d: *decoder) i32 = {
 //     Hare strips ASCII whitespace via `bytes::ltrim(input,
 //     whitespace...)`; that needs `lib/bytes` variadic graduation
 //     (future commit).
-//   - `contains` is non-variadic. Hare's is
-//     `contains(haystack, needles: (str | rune)...)`
-//     (ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:9). Gated on `(str|rune)...`
-//     tagged-variadic gather + runtime — task #5.
 //   - `byteindex` / `rbyteindex` rune arms encode via
 //     `utf8.encoderune`; the legacy impls scanned for `r: u8` (an
 //     undocumented ASCII-only restriction that silently dropped
@@ -1626,13 +1622,26 @@ export fn rindex(haystack: str, needle: (str | rune)) (i32 | void) = {
 	return;
 };
 
-// contains — true iff `needle` occurs in `haystack`.
-// ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:9 (subset: Hare's variadic form
-// `(needles: (str | rune)...)` blocks on task #16).
-export fn contains(haystack: str, needle: (str | rune)) bool = {
-	match (byteindex(haystack, needle)) {
-	case let i: i32 => return true;
-	case void       => return false;
+// contains — true iff any of `needles` occurs in `haystack`.
+// ref/hare/strings/contains.ha:9.
+export fn contains(haystack: str, needles: (str | rune)...) bool = {
+	let i: i32 = 0;
+	for (i < needles.len) {
+		match (needles[i]) {
+		case let s: str  => {
+			match (byteindex(haystack, s)) {
+			case let bo: i32 => return true;
+			case void        => void;
+			};
+		};
+		case let r: rune => {
+			match (byteindex(haystack, r)) {
+			case let bo: i32 => return true;
+			case void        => void;
+			};
+		};
+		};
+		i += 1;
 	};
 	return false;
 };