diff --git a/mypy/config_parser.py b/mypy/config_parser.py
index 24e61df0441c..ea9b8c18c4aa 100644
--- a/mypy/config_parser.py
+++ b/mypy/config_parser.py
@@ -143,6 +143,7 @@ def check_follow_imports(choice: str) -> str:
     'disable_error_code': try_split,
     'enable_error_code': try_split,
     'package_root': try_split,
+    'exclude': lambda s: [p.strip() for p in (s.split('\n') if isinstance(s, str) else s) if p.strip()],
 })