diff --git a/libsepol/cil/src/cil.c b/libsepol/cil/src/cil.c
index 4a77aa9c..a3c6a293 100644
--- a/libsepol/cil/src/cil.c
+++ b/libsepol/cil/src/cil.c
@@ -459,6 +459,7 @@ void cil_db_init(struct cil_db **db)
 	(*db)->preserve_tunables = CIL_FALSE;
 	(*db)->handle_unknown = -1;
 	(*db)->mls = -1;
+	(*db)->multiple_decls = CIL_FALSE;
 	(*db)->target_platform = SEPOL_TARGET_SELINUX;
 	(*db)->policy_version = POLICYDB_VERSION_MAX;
 }