diff --git a/msgfmt.py b/msgfmt.py
index 3f731e9..35dc2b7 100644
--- a/msgfmt.py
+++ b/msgfmt.py
@@ -155,6 +155,7 @@ def make(filename, outfile):
                     charset = p.parsestr(msgstr.decode(encoding)).get_content_charset()
                     if charset:
                         encoding = charset
+            msgctxt = None
             section = ID
             l = l[5:]
             msgid = msgstr = b''