diff --git a/monai/handlers/checkpoint_loader.py b/monai/handlers/checkpoint_loader.py
index ffc59e7732..810f233594 100644
--- a/monai/handlers/checkpoint_loader.py
+++ b/monai/handlers/checkpoint_loader.py
@@ -99,8 +99,14 @@ def __call__(self, engine: Engine) -> None:
                 checkpoint = {k: checkpoint}
 
             # skip items that don't match data shape
+            # only apply copy_model_state for torch.nn.Module objects
+            # this is needed to handle shape mismatches for models
             for k, obj in self.load_dict.items():
-                checkpoint[k] = copy_model_state(obj, checkpoint, inplace=False)[0]
+                if isinstance(obj, torch.nn.Module) and k in checkpoint:
+                    _, _, _ = copy_model_state(obj, checkpoint[k], inplace=True)
+                    # after copy_model_state, the model's state_dict has been updated
+                    # with matching shapes, so we need to update the checkpoint
+                    checkpoint[k] = obj.state_dict()
 
         # save current max epochs setting in the engine, don't overwrite it if larger than max_epochs in checkpoint
         prior_max_epochs = engine.state.max_epochs