diff --git a/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_policy.go b/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_policy.go
index 673026f5a29..d90d2fa259f 100644
--- a/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_policy.go
+++ b/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_policy.go
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ func resourceAwsAppautoscalingPolicyCreate(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interfac
 		return nil
 	})
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return fmt.Errorf("Failed to create scaling policy: %s", err)
 	}
 
 	d.Set("arn", resp.PolicyARN)
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ func resourceAwsAppautoscalingPolicyUpdate(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interfac
 	log.Printf("[DEBUG] Application Autoscaling Update Scaling Policy: %#v", params)
 	_, err := conn.PutScalingPolicy(&params)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return fmt.Errorf("Failed to update scaling policy: %s", err)
 	}
 
 	return resourceAwsAppautoscalingPolicyRead(d, meta)
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ func resourceAwsAppautoscalingPolicyDelete(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interfac
 	}
 	log.Printf("[DEBUG] Deleting Application AutoScaling Policy opts: %#v", params)
 	if _, err := conn.DeleteScalingPolicy(&params); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("Application AutoScaling Policy: %s", err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("Failed to delete autoscaling policy: %s", err)
 	}
 
 	d.SetId("")
@@ -571,14 +571,14 @@ func getAwsAppautoscalingPolicy(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) (*appl
 	}
 
 	// find scaling policy
-	name := d.Get("name")
+	name := d.Get("name").(string)
+	dimension := d.Get("scalable_dimension").(string)
 	for idx, sp := range resp.ScalingPolicies {
-		if *sp.PolicyName == name {
+		if *sp.PolicyName == name && *sp.ScalableDimension == dimension {
 			return resp.ScalingPolicies[idx], nil
 		}
 	}
 
-	// policy not found
 	return nil, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_policy_test.go b/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_policy_test.go
index 440e398427b..b039a0a6f75 100644
--- a/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_policy_test.go
+++ b/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_policy_test.go
@@ -122,6 +122,36 @@ func TestAccAWSAppautoScalingPolicy_dynamoDb(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+func TestAccAWSAppautoScalingPolicy_multiplePolicies(t *testing.T) {
+	var readPolicy applicationautoscaling.ScalingPolicy
+	var writePolicy applicationautoscaling.ScalingPolicy
+
+	tableName := fmt.Sprintf("tf-autoscaled-table-%s", acctest.RandString(5))
+	namePrefix := fmt.Sprintf("tf-appautoscaling-policy-%s", acctest.RandString(5))
+
+	resource.Test(t, resource.TestCase{
+		PreCheck:     func() { testAccPreCheck(t) },
+		Providers:    testAccProviders,
+		CheckDestroy: testAccCheckAWSAppautoscalingPolicyDestroy,
+		Steps: []resource.TestStep{
+			resource.TestStep{
+				Config: testAccAWSAppautoscalingPolicy_multiplePolicies(tableName, namePrefix),
+				Check: resource.ComposeTestCheckFunc(
+					testAccCheckAWSAppautoscalingPolicyExists("aws_appautoscaling_policy.read", &readPolicy),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_policy.read", "name", namePrefix+"-read"),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_policy.read", "service_namespace", "dynamodb"),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_policy.read", "scalable_dimension", "dynamodb:table:ReadCapacityUnits"),
+
+					testAccCheckAWSAppautoscalingPolicyExists("aws_appautoscaling_policy.write", &writePolicy),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_policy.write", "name", namePrefix+"-write"),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_policy.write", "service_namespace", "dynamodb"),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_policy.write", "scalable_dimension", "dynamodb:table:WriteCapacityUnits"),
+				),
+			},
+		},
+	})
+}
+
 func testAccCheckAWSAppautoscalingPolicyExists(n string, policy *applicationautoscaling.ScalingPolicy) resource.TestCheckFunc {
 	return func(s *terraform.State) error {
 		rs, ok := s.RootModule().Resources[n]
@@ -525,3 +555,113 @@ resource "aws_appautoscaling_policy" "dynamo_test" {
 }
 `, randPolicyName, randPolicyName)
 }
+
+func testAccAWSAppautoscalingPolicy_multiplePolicies(tableName, namePrefix string) string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf(`
+resource "aws_dynamodb_table" "dynamodb_table_test" {
+  name           = "%s"
+  read_capacity  = 5
+  write_capacity = 5
+  hash_key       = "FooKey"
+  attribute {
+    name = "FooKey"
+    type = "S"
+  }
+}
+
+resource "aws_iam_role" "autoscale_role" {
+  assume_role_policy = <<EOF
+{
+  "Version": "2012-10-17",
+  "Statement": [
+    {
+      "Effect": "Allow",
+      "Principal": {
+        "Service": "application-autoscaling.amazonaws.com"
+      },
+      "Action": "sts:AssumeRole"
+    }
+  ]
+}
+EOF
+}
+
+resource "aws_iam_role_policy" "p" {
+  role = "${aws_iam_role.autoscale_role.name}"
+  policy = <<POLICY
+{
+    "Version": "2012-10-17",
+    "Statement": [
+        {
+            "Effect": "Allow",
+            "Action": [
+                "dynamodb:DescribeTable",
+                "dynamodb:UpdateTable",
+                "cloudwatch:PutMetricAlarm",
+                "cloudwatch:DescribeAlarms",
+                "cloudwatch:DeleteAlarms"
+            ],
+            "Resource": "*"
+        }
+    ]
+}
+POLICY
+}
+
+resource "aws_appautoscaling_target" "write" {
+  service_namespace = "dynamodb"
+  resource_id = "table/${aws_dynamodb_table.dynamodb_table_test.name}"
+  scalable_dimension = "dynamodb:table:WriteCapacityUnits"
+  role_arn = "${aws_iam_role.autoscale_role.arn}"
+  min_capacity = 1
+  max_capacity = 10
+  depends_on = ["aws_iam_role_policy.p"]
+}
+
+resource "aws_appautoscaling_policy" "write" {
+  name = "%s-write"
+  policy_type = "TargetTrackingScaling"
+  service_namespace = "dynamodb"
+  resource_id = "table/${aws_dynamodb_table.dynamodb_table_test.name}"
+  scalable_dimension = "dynamodb:table:WriteCapacityUnits"
+
+  target_tracking_scaling_policy_configuration {
+    predefined_metric_specification {
+      predefined_metric_type = "DynamoDBWriteCapacityUtilization"
+    }
+    scale_in_cooldown = 10
+    scale_out_cooldown = 10
+    target_value = 70
+  }
+  depends_on = ["aws_appautoscaling_target.write"]
+}
+
+resource "aws_appautoscaling_target" "read" {
+  service_namespace = "dynamodb"
+  resource_id = "table/${aws_dynamodb_table.dynamodb_table_test.name}"
+  scalable_dimension = "dynamodb:table:ReadCapacityUnits"
+  role_arn = "${aws_iam_role.autoscale_role.arn}"
+  min_capacity = 1
+  max_capacity = 10
+  depends_on = ["aws_iam_role_policy.p"]
+}
+
+resource "aws_appautoscaling_policy" "read" {
+  name = "%s-read"
+  policy_type = "TargetTrackingScaling"
+  service_namespace = "dynamodb"
+  resource_id = "table/${aws_dynamodb_table.dynamodb_table_test.name}"
+  scalable_dimension = "dynamodb:table:ReadCapacityUnits"
+
+  target_tracking_scaling_policy_configuration {
+    predefined_metric_specification {
+      predefined_metric_type = "DynamoDBReadCapacityUtilization"
+    }
+    scale_in_cooldown = 10
+    scale_out_cooldown = 10
+    target_value = 70
+  }
+  depends_on = ["aws_appautoscaling_target.read"]
+}
+`, tableName, namePrefix, namePrefix)
+}
diff --git a/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_target.go b/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_target.go
index 2490f4d2dea..8734d869f70 100644
--- a/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_target.go
+++ b/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_target.go
@@ -96,7 +96,9 @@ func resourceAwsAppautoscalingTargetCreate(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interfac
 func resourceAwsAppautoscalingTargetRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) error {
 	conn := meta.(*AWSClient).appautoscalingconn
 
-	t, err := getAwsAppautoscalingTarget(d, conn)
+	namespace := d.Get("service_namespace").(string)
+	dimension := d.Get("scalable_dimension").(string)
+	t, err := getAwsAppautoscalingTarget(d.Id(), namespace, dimension, conn)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -119,7 +121,10 @@ func resourceAwsAppautoscalingTargetRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{
 func resourceAwsAppautoscalingTargetDelete(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) error {
 	conn := meta.(*AWSClient).appautoscalingconn
 
-	t, err := getAwsAppautoscalingTarget(d, conn)
+	namespace := d.Get("service_namespace").(string)
+	dimension := d.Get("scalable_dimension").(string)
+
+	t, err := getAwsAppautoscalingTarget(d.Id(), namespace, dimension, conn)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -153,7 +158,7 @@ func resourceAwsAppautoscalingTargetDelete(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interfac
 	}
 
 	return resource.Retry(5*time.Minute, func() *resource.RetryError {
-		if t, _ = getAwsAppautoscalingTarget(d, conn); t != nil {
+		if t, _ = getAwsAppautoscalingTarget(d.Id(), namespace, dimension, conn); t != nil {
 			return resource.RetryableError(
 				fmt.Errorf("Application AutoScaling Target still exists"))
 		}
@@ -161,14 +166,12 @@ func resourceAwsAppautoscalingTargetDelete(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interfac
 	})
 }
 
-func getAwsAppautoscalingTarget(
-	d *schema.ResourceData,
+func getAwsAppautoscalingTarget(resourceId, namespace, dimension string,
 	conn *applicationautoscaling.ApplicationAutoScaling) (*applicationautoscaling.ScalableTarget, error) {
 
-	tgtName := d.Id()
 	describeOpts := applicationautoscaling.DescribeScalableTargetsInput{
-		ResourceIds:      []*string{aws.String(tgtName)},
-		ServiceNamespace: aws.String(d.Get("service_namespace").(string)),
+		ResourceIds:      []*string{aws.String(resourceId)},
+		ServiceNamespace: aws.String(namespace),
 	}
 
 	log.Printf("[DEBUG] Application AutoScaling Target describe configuration: %#v", describeOpts)
@@ -181,7 +184,7 @@ func getAwsAppautoscalingTarget(
 	}
 
 	for idx, tgt := range describeTargets.ScalableTargets {
-		if *tgt.ResourceId == tgtName {
+		if *tgt.ResourceId == resourceId && *tgt.ScalableDimension == dimension {
 			return describeTargets.ScalableTargets[idx], nil
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_target_test.go b/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_target_test.go
index f61484d19b4..0f6b3977b32 100644
--- a/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_target_test.go
+++ b/aws/resource_aws_appautoscaling_target_test.go
@@ -88,6 +88,40 @@ func TestAccAWSAppautoScalingTarget_emrCluster(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+func TestAccAWSAppautoScalingTarget_multipleTargets(t *testing.T) {
+	var writeTarget applicationautoscaling.ScalableTarget
+	var readTarget applicationautoscaling.ScalableTarget
+
+	rInt := acctest.RandInt()
+	tableName := fmt.Sprintf("tf_acc_test_table_%d", rInt)
+
+	resource.Test(t, resource.TestCase{
+		PreCheck:     func() { testAccPreCheck(t) },
+		Providers:    testAccProviders,
+		CheckDestroy: testAccCheckAWSAppautoscalingTargetDestroy,
+		Steps: []resource.TestStep{
+			{
+				Config: testAccAWSAppautoscalingTarget_multipleTargets(tableName),
+				Check: resource.ComposeTestCheckFunc(
+					testAccCheckAWSAppautoscalingTargetExists("aws_appautoscaling_target.write", &writeTarget),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_target.write", "service_namespace", "dynamodb"),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_target.write", "resource_id", "table/"+tableName),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_target.write", "scalable_dimension", "dynamodb:table:WriteCapacityUnits"),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_target.write", "min_capacity", "1"),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_target.write", "max_capacity", "10"),
+
+					testAccCheckAWSAppautoscalingTargetExists("aws_appautoscaling_target.read", &readTarget),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_target.read", "service_namespace", "dynamodb"),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_target.read", "resource_id", "table/"+tableName),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_target.read", "scalable_dimension", "dynamodb:table:ReadCapacityUnits"),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_target.read", "min_capacity", "2"),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr("aws_appautoscaling_target.read", "max_capacity", "15"),
+				),
+			},
+		},
+	})
+}
+
 func testAccCheckAWSAppautoscalingTargetDestroy(s *terraform.State) error {
 	conn := testAccProvider.Meta().(*AWSClient).appautoscalingconn
 
@@ -137,22 +171,19 @@ func testAccCheckAWSAppautoscalingTargetExists(n string, target *applicationauto
 
 		conn := testAccProvider.Meta().(*AWSClient).appautoscalingconn
 
-		describeTargets, err := conn.DescribeScalableTargets(
-			&applicationautoscaling.DescribeScalableTargetsInput{
-				ResourceIds:      []*string{aws.String(rs.Primary.ID)},
-				ServiceNamespace: aws.String(rs.Primary.Attributes["service_namespace"]),
-			},
-		)
+		namespace := rs.Primary.Attributes["service_namespace"]
+		dimension := rs.Primary.Attributes["scalable_dimension"]
 
+		tgt, err := getAwsAppautoscalingTarget(rs.Primary.ID, namespace, dimension, conn)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-
-		if len(describeTargets.ScalableTargets) != 1 || *describeTargets.ScalableTargets[0].ResourceId != rs.Primary.ID {
-			return fmt.Errorf("Application AutoScaling ResourceId not found")
+		if tgt == nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("Scalable target for %q (%s/%s) not found",
+				rs.Primary.ID, namespace, dimension)
 		}
 
-		target = describeTargets.ScalableTargets[0]
+		*target = *tgt
 
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -734,3 +765,77 @@ resource "aws_appautoscaling_target" "test" {
   max_capacity = 3
 }
 `)
+
+func testAccAWSAppautoscalingTarget_multipleTargets(tableName string) string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf(`
+resource "aws_dynamodb_table" "dynamodb_table_test" {
+  name           = "%s"
+  read_capacity  = 5
+  write_capacity = 5
+  hash_key       = "FooKey"
+  attribute {
+    name = "FooKey"
+    type = "S"
+  }
+}
+
+resource "aws_iam_role" "autoscale_role" {
+  assume_role_policy = <<EOF
+{
+  "Version": "2012-10-17",
+  "Statement": [
+    {
+      "Effect": "Allow",
+      "Principal": {
+        "Service": "application-autoscaling.amazonaws.com"
+      },
+      "Action": "sts:AssumeRole"
+    }
+  ]
+}
+EOF
+}
+
+resource "aws_iam_role_policy" "p" {
+  role = "${aws_iam_role.autoscale_role.name}"
+  policy = <<POLICY
+{
+    "Version": "2012-10-17",
+    "Statement": [
+        {
+            "Effect": "Allow",
+            "Action": [
+                "dynamodb:DescribeTable",
+                "dynamodb:UpdateTable",
+                "cloudwatch:PutMetricAlarm",
+                "cloudwatch:DescribeAlarms",
+                "cloudwatch:DeleteAlarms"
+            ],
+            "Resource": "*"
+        }
+    ]
+}
+POLICY
+}
+
+resource "aws_appautoscaling_target" "write" {
+  service_namespace = "dynamodb"
+  resource_id = "table/${aws_dynamodb_table.dynamodb_table_test.name}"
+  scalable_dimension = "dynamodb:table:WriteCapacityUnits"
+  role_arn = "${aws_iam_role.autoscale_role.arn}"
+  min_capacity = 1
+  max_capacity = 10
+  depends_on = ["aws_iam_role_policy.p"]
+}
+
+resource "aws_appautoscaling_target" "read" {
+  service_namespace = "dynamodb"
+  resource_id = "table/${aws_dynamodb_table.dynamodb_table_test.name}"
+  scalable_dimension = "dynamodb:table:ReadCapacityUnits"
+  role_arn = "${aws_iam_role.autoscale_role.arn}"
+  min_capacity = 2
+  max_capacity = 15
+  depends_on = ["aws_iam_role_policy.p"]
+}
+`, tableName)
+}