We study the exact controllability of two systems by means of a common fini
te-dimensional input function, a property called simultaneous exact control
lability. Most of the time we consider one system to be infinite-dimensiona
l and the other finite-dimensional. In this case we show that if both syste
ms are exactly controllable in time T-0 and the generators have no common e
igenvalues, then they are simultaneously exactly controllable in any time T
> T-0. Moreover, we show that similar results hold for approximate control
lability. For exactly controllable systems we characterize the reachable su
bspaces corresponding to input functions of class H-1 and H-2. We apply our
results to prove the exact controllability of a coupled system composed of
a string with a mass at one end. Finally, we consider an example of two in
finite-dimensional systems: we characterize the simultaneously reachable su
bspace for two strings controlled from a common end. The result is obtained
using a recent generalization of a classical inequality of Ingham.