diff --git a/Objects/moduleobject.c b/Objects/moduleobject.c
index d1aa771..c9f00e9 100644
--- a/Objects/moduleobject.c
+++ b/Objects/moduleobject.c
@@ -175,7 +175,10 @@
 {
 	PyObject_GC_UnTrack(m);
 	if (m->md_dict != NULL) {
-		_PyModule_Clear((PyObject *)m);
+		/* If we are the only ones holding a reference, we can clear
+		   the dictionary. */
+		if (Py_REFCNT(m->md_dict) == 1)
+			_PyModule_Clear((PyObject *)m);
 		Py_DECREF(m->md_dict);
 	}
 	Py_TYPE(m)->tp_free((PyObject *)m);