diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/files/unarchive.py b/lib/ansible/modules/files/unarchive.py
index 58a69085d2b..03d6a5bcc47 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/files/unarchive.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/files/unarchive.py
@@ -72,6 +72,8 @@ options:
   extra_opts:
     description:
       - Specify additional options by passing in an array.
+      - Each space-separated command-line option should be a new element of the array. See examples.
+      - Command-line options with multiple elements must use multiple lines in the array, one for each element.
     type: list
     default: ""
     version_added: "2.1"