diff --git a/lib/ansible/module_utils/k8s/common.py b/lib/ansible/module_utils/k8s/common.py
index 32e2e6e3a6..ca08264ce0 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/module_utils/k8s/common.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/module_utils/k8s/common.py
@@ -63,7 +63,6 @@ COMMON_ARG_SPEC = {
         'default': False,
     },
     'resource_definition': {
-        'type': 'dict',
         'aliases': ['definition', 'inline']
     },
     'src': {
diff --git a/lib/ansible/module_utils/k8s/raw.py b/lib/ansible/module_utils/k8s/raw.py
index 0d62c190c0..630096957f 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/module_utils/k8s/raw.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/module_utils/k8s/raw.py
@@ -23,9 +23,10 @@ from ansible.module_utils.k8s.common import KubernetesAnsibleModule
 
 
 try:
+    import yaml
     from openshift.dynamic.exceptions import DynamicApiError, NotFoundError, ConflictError
 except ImportError:
-    # Exception handled in common
+    # Exceptions handled in common
     pass
 
 
@@ -49,7 +50,13 @@ class KubernetesRawModule(KubernetesAnsibleModule):
         namespace = self.params.pop('namespace')
         resource_definition = self.params.pop('resource_definition')
         if resource_definition:
-            self.resource_definitions = [resource_definition]
+            if isinstance(resource_definition, str):
+                try:
+                    self.resource_definitions = yaml.safe_load_all(resource_definition)
+                except (IOError, yaml.YAMLError) as exc:
+                    self.fail(msg="Error loading resource_definition: {0}".format(exc))
+            else:
+                self.resource_definitions = [resource_definition]
         src = self.params.pop('src')
         if src:
             self.resource_definitions = self.load_resource_definitions(src)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/clustering/k8s/k8s.py b/lib/ansible/modules/clustering/k8s/k8s.py
index af265201ab..6fb6084757 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/clustering/k8s/k8s.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/clustering/k8s/k8s.py
@@ -99,12 +99,12 @@ EXAMPLES = '''
 - name: Read definition file from the Ansible controller file system
   k8s:
     state: present
-    definition: "{{ lookup('file', '/testing/deployment.yml') | from_yaml }}"
+    definition: "{{ lookup('file', '/testing/deployment.yml') }}"
 
 - name: Read definition file from the Ansible controller file system after Jinja templating
   k8s:
     state: present
-    definition: "{{ lookup('template', '/testing/deployment.yml') | from_yaml }}"
+    definition: "{{ lookup('template', '/testing/deployment.yml') }}"
 '''
 
 RETURN = '''
@@ -135,8 +135,8 @@ result:
        returned: success
        type: complex
      items:
-       description: Returned only when the I(kind) is a List type resource. Contains a set of objects.
-       returned: when resource is a List
+       description: Returned only when multiple yaml documents are passed to src or resource_definition
+       returned: when resource_definition or src contains list of objects
        type: list
 '''
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/utils/module_docs_fragments/k8s_resource_options.py b/lib/ansible/utils/module_docs_fragments/k8s_resource_options.py
index 8f091a4923..1466210e1f 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/utils/module_docs_fragments/k8s_resource_options.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/utils/module_docs_fragments/k8s_resource_options.py
@@ -25,14 +25,14 @@ class ModuleDocFragment(object):
 options:
   resource_definition:
     description:
-    - "Provide a valid YAML definition for an object when creating or updating. NOTE: I(kind), I(api_version), I(name),
+    - "Provide a valid YAML definition (either as a string or a dict) for an object when creating or updating. NOTE: I(kind), I(api_version), I(name),
       and I(namespace) will be overwritten by corresponding values found in the provided I(resource_definition)."
     aliases:
     - definition
     - inline
   src:
     description:
-    - "Provide a path to a file containing a valid YAML definition of an object to be created or updated. Mutually
+    - "Provide a path to a file containing a valid YAML definition of an object or objects to be created or updated. Mutually
       exclusive with I(resource_definition). NOTE: I(kind), I(api_version), I(name), and I(namespace) will be
       overwritten by corresponding values found in the configuration read in from the I(src) file."
     - Reads from the local file system. To read from the Ansible controller's file system, use the file lookup