diff --git a/config/interpolate_funcs.go b/config/interpolate_funcs.go
index bc2c49f45..32fc2ba4b 100644
--- a/config/interpolate_funcs.go
+++ b/config/interpolate_funcs.go
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ func Funcs() map[string]ast.Function {
 		"distinct":     interpolationFuncDistinct(),
 		"element":      interpolationFuncElement(),
 		"file":         interpolationFuncFile(),
+		"matchkeys":    interpolationFuncMatchKeys(),
 		"floor":        interpolationFuncFloor(),
 		"format":       interpolationFuncFormat(),
 		"formatlist":   interpolationFuncFormatList(),
@@ -668,6 +669,57 @@ func appendIfMissing(slice []string, element string) []string {
 	return append(slice, element)
 }
 
+// for two lists `keys` and `values` of equal length, returns all elements
+// from `values` where the corresponding element from `keys` is in `searchset`.
+func interpolationFuncMatchKeys() ast.Function {
+	return ast.Function{
+		ArgTypes:   []ast.Type{ast.TypeList, ast.TypeList, ast.TypeList},
+		ReturnType: ast.TypeList,
+		Callback: func(args []interface{}) (interface{}, error) {
+			output := make([]ast.Variable, 0)
+
+			values, _ := args[0].([]ast.Variable)
+			keys, _ := args[1].([]ast.Variable)
+			searchset, _ := args[2].([]ast.Variable)
+
+			if len(keys) != len(values) {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("length of keys and values should be equal")
+			}
+
+			for i, key := range keys {
+				for _, search := range searchset {
+					if res, err := compareSimpleVariables(key, search); err != nil {
+						return nil, err
+					} else if res == true {
+						output = append(output, values[i])
+						break
+					}
+				}
+			}
+			// if searchset is empty, then output is an empty list as well.
+			// if we haven't matched any key, then output is an empty list.
+			return output, nil
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+// compare two variables of the same type, i.e. non complex one, such as TypeList or TypeMap
+func compareSimpleVariables(a, b ast.Variable) (bool, error) {
+	if a.Type != b.Type {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf(
+			"won't compare items of different types %s and %s",
+			a.Type.Printable(), b.Type.Printable())
+	}
+	switch a.Type {
+	case ast.TypeString:
+		return a.Value.(string) == b.Value.(string), nil
+	default:
+		return false, fmt.Errorf(
+			"can't compare items of type %s",
+			a.Type.Printable())
+	}
+}
+
 // interpolationFuncJoin implements the "join" function that allows
 // multi-variable values to be joined by some character.
 func interpolationFuncJoin() ast.Function {
diff --git a/config/interpolate_funcs_test.go b/config/interpolate_funcs_test.go
index 801be6dbb..29c09aa9e 100644
--- a/config/interpolate_funcs_test.go
+++ b/config/interpolate_funcs_test.go
@@ -964,6 +964,74 @@ func TestInterpolateFuncDistinct(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+func TestInterpolateFuncMatchKeys(t *testing.T) {
+	testFunction(t, testFunctionConfig{
+		Cases: []testFunctionCase{
+			// normal usage
+			{
+				`${matchkeys(list("a", "b", "c"), list("ref1", "ref2", "ref3"), list("ref2"))}`,
+				[]interface{}{"b"},
+				false,
+			},
+			// normal usage 2, check the order
+			{
+				`${matchkeys(list("a", "b", "c"), list("ref1", "ref2", "ref3"), list("ref2", "ref1"))}`,
+				[]interface{}{"a", "b"},
+				false,
+			},
+			// duplicate item in searchset
+			{
+				`${matchkeys(list("a", "b", "c"), list("ref1", "ref2", "ref3"), list("ref2", "ref2"))}`,
+				[]interface{}{"b"},
+				false,
+			},
+			// no matches
+			{
+				`${matchkeys(list("a", "b", "c"), list("ref1", "ref2", "ref3"), list("ref4"))}`,
+				[]interface{}{},
+				false,
+			},
+			// no matches 2
+			{
+				`${matchkeys(list("a", "b", "c"), list("ref1", "ref2", "ref3"), list())}`,
+				[]interface{}{},
+				false,
+			},
+			// zero case
+			{
+				`${matchkeys(list(), list(), list("nope"))}`,
+				[]interface{}{},
+				false,
+			},
+			// complex values
+			{
+				`${matchkeys(list(list("a", "a")), list("a"), list("a"))}`,
+				[]interface{}{[]interface{}{"a", "a"}},
+				false,
+			},
+			// errors
+			// different types
+			{
+				`${matchkeys(list("a"), list(1), list("a"))}`,
+				nil,
+				true,
+			},
+			// different types
+			{
+				`${matchkeys(list("a"), list(list("a"), list("a")), list("a"))}`,
+				nil,
+				true,
+			},
+			// lists of different length is an error
+			{
+				`${matchkeys(list("a"), list("a", "b"), list("a"))}`,
+				nil,
+				true,
+			},
+		},
+	})
+}
+
 func TestInterpolateFuncFile(t *testing.T) {
 	tf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "tf")
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/website/source/docs/configuration/interpolation.html.md b/website/source/docs/configuration/interpolation.html.md
index 1b4b69c5c..bd003679e 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/configuration/interpolation.html.md
+++ b/website/source/docs/configuration/interpolation.html.md
@@ -208,6 +208,15 @@ The supported built-in functions are:
       module, you generally want to make the path relative to the module base,
       like this: `file("${path.module}/file")`.
 
+  * `matchkeys(values, keys, searchset)` - For two lists `values` and `keys` of
+      equal length, returns all elements from `values` where the corresponding
+      element from `keys` exists in the `searchset` list.  E.g.
+      `matchkeys(aws_instance.example.*.id,
+      aws_instance.example.*.availability_zone, list("us-west-2a"))` will return a
+      list of the instance IDs of the `aws_instance.example` instances in
+      `"us-west-2a"`. No match will result in empty list. Items of `keys` are
+      processed sequentially, so the order of returned `values` is preserved.
+
   * `floor(float)` - Returns the greatest integer value less than or equal to
       the argument.