diff --git a/vmm/src/cpu.rs b/vmm/src/cpu.rs
index f8e5ac724..237cd1ec7 100644
--- a/vmm/src/cpu.rs
+++ b/vmm/src/cpu.rs
@@ -900,6 +900,10 @@ impl CpuManager {
         state.signal_thread();
         state.join_thread()?;
         state.handle = None;
+
+        // Once the thread has exited, clear the "kill" so that it can reused
+        state.kill.store(false, Ordering::SeqCst);
+
         Ok(())
     }