diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/lucene/analysis/Token.java b/src/java/org/apache/lucene/analysis/Token.java
index 1228fa8e436..9cc6ac781c7 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/lucene/analysis/Token.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/lucene/analysis/Token.java
@@ -867,6 +867,7 @@ public class Token extends AttributeImpl
         to.payload = (Payload) payload.clone();
       }
     } else {
+      initTermBuffer();
       ((TermAttribute) target).setTermBuffer(termBuffer, 0, termLength);
       ((OffsetAttribute) target).setOffset(startOffset, endOffset);
       ((PositionIncrementAttribute) target).setPositionIncrement(positionIncrement);