diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/5705-opkg-fix-force-reinstall.yml b/changelogs/fragments/5705-opkg-fix-force-reinstall.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..27a188ab9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/5705-opkg-fix-force-reinstall.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - opkg - fix issue that ``force=reinstall`` would not reinstall an existing package (https://github.com/ansible-collections/community.general/pull/5705).
diff --git a/plugins/modules/packaging/os/opkg.py b/plugins/modules/packaging/os/opkg.py
index 60d2adc958..6c5e23093e 100644
--- a/plugins/modules/packaging/os/opkg.py
+++ b/plugins/modules/packaging/os/opkg.py
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ def install_packages(module, opkg_path, packages):
     install_c = 0
 
     for package in packages:
-        if query_package(module, opkg_path, package):
+        if query_package(module, opkg_path, package) and (force != '--force-reinstall'):
             continue
 
         rc, out, err = module.run_command("%s install %s %s" % (opkg_path, force, package))