diff --git a/lib/puppet/util/diff.rb b/lib/puppet/util/diff.rb
index 55f60655e..fd7f77f21 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/util/diff.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/util/diff.rb
@@ -1,77 +1,79 @@
 require 'tempfile'
 
 # Provide a diff between two strings.
 module Puppet::Util::Diff
   include Puppet::Util::Execution
   require 'tempfile'
 
   def diff(old, new)
     return '' unless diff_cmd = Puppet[:diff] and diff_cmd != ""
 
     command = [diff_cmd]
     if args = Puppet[:diff_args] and args != ""
-      command << args
+      args.split(' ').each do|arg|
+        command << arg
+      end
     end
     command << old << new
     Puppet::Util::Execution.execute(command, :failonfail => false, :combine => false)
   end
 
   module_function :diff
 
   # return diff string of two input strings
   # format defaults to unified
   # context defaults to 3 lines
   def lcs_diff(data_old, data_new, format=:unified, context_lines=3)
     unless Puppet.features.diff?
       Puppet.warning "Cannot provide diff without the diff/lcs Ruby library"
       return ""
     end
     data_old = data_old.split(/\n/).map! { |e| e.chomp }
     data_new = data_new.split(/\n/).map! { |e| e.chomp }
 
     output = ""
 
     diffs = ::Diff::LCS.diff(data_old, data_new)
     return output if diffs.empty?
 
     oldhunk = hunk = nil
     file_length_difference = 0
 
     diffs.each do |piece|
       begin
 
         hunk = ::Diff::LCS::Hunk.new(
           data_old, data_new, piece,
             context_lines,
 
             file_length_difference)
         file_length_difference = hunk.file_length_difference
       next unless oldhunk
       # Hunks may overlap, which is why we need to be careful when our
       # diff includes lines of context. Otherwise, we might print
       # redundant lines.
       if (context_lines > 0) and hunk.overlaps?(oldhunk)
         hunk.unshift(oldhunk)
       else
         output << oldhunk.diff(format)
       end
       ensure
         oldhunk = hunk
         output << "\n"
       end
     end
 
     # Handle the last remaining hunk
     output << oldhunk.diff(format) << "\n"
   end
 
   def string_file_diff(path, string)
     tempfile = Tempfile.new("puppet-diffing")
     tempfile.open
     tempfile.print string
     tempfile.close
     notice "\n" + diff(path, tempfile.path)
     tempfile.delete
   end
 end
 
diff --git a/spec/unit/util/diff_spec.rb b/spec/unit/util/diff_spec.rb
index ad4a4e23c..6bf40948b 100755
--- a/spec/unit/util/diff_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/util/diff_spec.rb
@@ -1,31 +1,39 @@
 #! /usr/bin/env ruby
 require 'spec_helper'
 require 'puppet/util/diff'
 require 'puppet/util/execution'
 
 describe Puppet::Util::Diff do
   describe ".diff" do
     it "should execute the diff command with arguments" do
       Puppet[:diff] = 'foo'
       Puppet[:diff_args] = 'bar'
 
       Puppet::Util::Execution.expects(:execute).with(['foo', 'bar', 'a', 'b'], {:failonfail => false, :combine => false}).returns('baz')
       subject.diff('a', 'b').should == 'baz'
     end
 
+    it "should execute the diff command with multiple arguments" do
+      Puppet[:diff] = 'foo'
+      Puppet[:diff_args] = 'bar qux'
+
+      Puppet::Util::Execution.expects(:execute).with(['foo', 'bar', 'qux', 'a', 'b'], anything).returns('baz')
+      subject.diff('a', 'b').should == 'baz'
+    end
+
     it "should omit diff arguments if none are specified" do
       Puppet[:diff] = 'foo'
       Puppet[:diff_args] = ''
 
       Puppet::Util::Execution.expects(:execute).with(['foo', 'a', 'b'], {:failonfail => false, :combine => false}).returns('baz')
       subject.diff('a', 'b').should == 'baz'
     end
 
     it "should return empty string if the diff command is empty" do
       Puppet[:diff] = ''
 
       Puppet::Util::Execution.expects(:execute).never
       subject.diff('a', 'b').should == ''
     end
   end
 end