diff --git a/crates/runtime/src/instance.rs b/crates/runtime/src/instance.rs
index 9ad701432c04..61902beecb97 100644
--- a/crates/runtime/src/instance.rs
+++ b/crates/runtime/src/instance.rs
@@ -805,7 +805,12 @@ impl Instance {
         // disconnected from the lifetime of `self`.
         let module = self.module().clone();
 
-        let empty = TableSegmentElements::Functions(Box::new([]));
+        // NB: fall back to an expressions-based list of elements which doesn't
+        // have static type information (as opposed to `Functions`) since we
+        // don't know just yet what type the table has. The type will be be
+        // inferred in the next step within `table_init_segment`.
+        let empty = TableSegmentElements::Expressions(Box::new([]));
+
         let elements = match module.passive_elements_map.get(&elem_index) {
             Some(index) if !self.dropped_elements.contains(elem_index) => {
                 &module.passive_elements[*index]
diff --git a/tests/misc_testsuite/externref-table-dropped-segment-issue-8281.wast b/tests/misc_testsuite/externref-table-dropped-segment-issue-8281.wast
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..723c03c801e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/misc_testsuite/externref-table-dropped-segment-issue-8281.wast
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+(module
+  (table $t 0 0 externref)
+
+  (func (export "f1")
+    (i32.const 0)
+    (i32.const 0)
+    (i32.const 0)
+    (table.init $t $declared)
+  )
+
+  (func (export "f2")
+    (i32.const 0)
+    (i32.const 0)
+    (i32.const 0)
+    (table.init $t $passive)
+
+    (elem.drop $passive)
+
+    (i32.const 0)
+    (i32.const 0)
+    (i32.const 0)
+    (table.init $t $passive)
+  )
+
+  (func (export "f3")
+    (i32.const 0)
+    (i32.const 0)
+    (i32.const 0)
+    (table.init $t $active)
+  )
+
+  (elem $declared declare externref)
+  (elem $passive externref)
+  (elem $active (i32.const 0) externref)
+)
+
+(assert_return (invoke "f1"))
+(assert_return (invoke "f2"))
+(assert_return (invoke "f3"))