Active (intelligent/smart) materials in engineering solutions are generally combined with other materials, and they are embedded in physical environments. In the current work, these kinds of systems are described as soft-hard active-passive embedded structures (SHAPES). The term emphasizes the interacting materials: In the same way as soft-hard is a spectrum of mechanical compliance, active-passive describes a spectrum of multi-field compliance, i.e. the strength of reaction to a non-mechanical stimulus like a temperature change or an applied electric field. SHAPES can be classified according to the interaction of the active and passive materials as having a Case I (the expansion of the active material is mostly constrained by the passive material), Case II (a combined deformation behavior ensues which is influenced by the active and passive materials) or Case III (the active material deforms freely with only negligible influence of the passive material) behavior. Various application concepts for SHAPES as actuators or for other applications—such as morphing, conductivity switching, sensing, connection-breaking, blocking, and material logic—are presented. Furthermore, the most common active materials that can be part of SHAPES are discussed with respect to their stimulus-responsivity. From these, design recommendations for SHAPES-like applications are derived. Two tables that give a comprehensive overview of relevant literature sources are provided. These tables serve as a snapshot of the currently applied materials and the realized concepts. They can serve as a starting point to add new and emerging materials. The unique focus of the present review is the classification of the interacting materials and how authors utilize the properties of the active and passive materials inside their composites. This allows the identification of gaps/shortcomings in the field and opportunities for new SHAPES designs.