diff --git a/datasette/utils/__init__.py b/datasette/utils/__init__.py
index 083fba0c17..69e288e656 100644
--- a/datasette/utils/__init__.py
+++ b/datasette/utils/__init__.py
@@ -759,14 +759,14 @@ def __init__(self, data):
         if isinstance(data, dict):
             for key in data:
                 assert isinstance(
-                    data[key], list
+                    data[key], (list, tuple)
                 ), "dictionary data should be a dictionary of key => [list]"
             self._data = data
-        elif isinstance(data, list):
+        elif isinstance(data, list) or isinstance(data, tuple):
             new_data = {}
             for item in data:
                 assert (
-                    isinstance(item, list) and len(item) == 2
+                    isinstance(item, (list, tuple)) and len(item) == 2
                 ), "list data should be a list of [key, value] pairs"
                 key, value = item
                 new_data.setdefault(key, []).append(value)
diff --git a/tests/test_utils.py b/tests/test_utils.py
index ffe14587bb..a7968e54c2 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -439,10 +439,20 @@ def foo(a, b):
         utils.call_with_supported_arguments(foo, a=1)
 
 
-def test_multi_params_list():
-    p1 = utils.MultiParams([["foo", "bar"], ["foo", "baz"]])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("data,should_raise", [
+    ([["foo", "bar"], ["foo", "baz"]], False),
+    ([("foo", "bar"), ("foo", "baz")], False),
+    ((["foo", "bar"], ["foo", "baz"]), False),
+    ([["foo", "bar"], ["foo", "baz", "bax"]], True),
+    ({"foo": ["bar", "baz"]}, False),
+    ({"foo": ("bar", "baz")}, False),
+    ({"foo": "bar"}, True),
+])
+def test_multi_params(data, should_raise):
+    if should_raise:
+        with pytest.raises(AssertionError):
+            utils.MultiParams(data)
+        return
+    p1 = utils.MultiParams(data)
     assert "bar" == p1["foo"]
-    assert ["bar", "baz"] == p1.getlist("foo")
-    # Should raise an error if list isn't pairs
-    with pytest.raises(AssertionError):
-        utils.MultiParams([["foo", "bar"], ["foo", "baz", "bar"]])
+    assert ["bar", "baz"] == list(p1.getlist("foo"))