diff --git a/tensor2tensor/layers/modalities.py b/tensor2tensor/layers/modalities.py
index 511e999f0..c7bb80e05 100644
--- a/tensor2tensor/layers/modalities.py
+++ b/tensor2tensor/layers/modalities.py
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ def top(self, body_output, _):
 
     if self._model_hparams.shared_embedding_and_softmax_weights:
       scope_name = "shared"
-      reuse = True
+      reuse = tf.AUTO_REUSE
     else:
       scope_name = "softmax"
       reuse = False