diff --git a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-meta-query.php b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-meta-query.php
index 4ca9e892b0814..0b3ffab033d4d 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-meta-query.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-meta-query.php
@@ -691,7 +691,7 @@ public function get_sql_for_clause( &$clause, $parent_query, $clause_key = '' )
 				if ( ! is_array( $meta_value ) ) {
 					$meta_value = preg_split( '/[,\s]+/', $meta_value );
 				}
-			} else {
+			} elseif ( is_string( $meta_value ) ) {
 				$meta_value = trim( $meta_value );
 			}