diff --git a/openmc/mgxs/mgxs.py b/openmc/mgxs/mgxs.py
index 829f88111..e0974d473 100644
--- a/openmc/mgxs/mgxs.py
+++ b/openmc/mgxs/mgxs.py
@@ -693,7 +693,7 @@ class MGXS(object):
         for tally_type, tally in self.tallies.items():
             sp_tally = statepoint.get_tally(
                 tally.scores, tally.filters, tally.nuclides,
-                estimator=tally.estimator, exact=True)
+                estimator=tally.estimator, exact_filters=True)
             sp_tally = sp_tally.get_slice(
                 tally.scores, filters, filter_bins, tally.nuclides)
             sp_tally.sparse = self.sparse
diff --git a/openmc/statepoint.py b/openmc/statepoint.py
index 83dd148fe..14a48e7f6 100644
--- a/openmc/statepoint.py
+++ b/openmc/statepoint.py
@@ -497,17 +497,18 @@ class StatePoint(object):
                 self.tallies[tally_id].sparse = self.sparse
 
     def get_tally(self, scores=[], filters=[], nuclides=[],
-                  name=None, id=None, estimator=None, exact=False):
+                  name=None, id=None, estimator=None, exact_filters=False,
+                  exact_nuclides=False, exact_scores=False):
         """Finds and returns a Tally object with certain properties.
 
         This routine searches the list of Tallies and returns the first Tally
         found which satisfies all of the input parameters.
 
-        NOTE: If the "exact" parameter is False (default), the input parameters
-        do not need to match the complete Tally specification and may only
-        represent a subset of the Tally's properties. If the "exact" parameter
-        is True then the scores, filters, nuclides and estimator parameters
-        must precisely match those of any matching Tally.
+        NOTE: If any of the "exact" parameters are False (default), the input
+        parameters do not need to match the complete Tally specification and
+        may only represent a subset of the Tally's properties. If an "exact"
+        parameter is True then number of scores, filters, or nuclides in the
+        parameters must precisely match those of any matching Tally.
 
         Parameters
         ----------
@@ -523,9 +524,18 @@ class StatePoint(object):
             The id specified for the Tally (default is None).
         estimator: str, optional
             The type of estimator ('tracklength', 'analog'; default is None).
-        exact : bool
-            Whether to strictly enforce the match between the parameters and
-            the returned tally
+        exact_filters : bool
+            If True, the number of filters in the parameters must be identical
+            to those in the matching Tally. If False (default), the filters in
+            the parameters may be a subset of those in the matching Tally.
+        exact_nuclides : bool
+            If True, the number of nuclides in the parameters must be identical
+            to those in the matching Tally. If False (default), the nuclides in
+            the parameters may be a subset of those in the matching Tally.
+        exact_scores : bool
+            If True, the number of scores in the parameters must be identical
+            to those in the matching Tally. If False (default), the scores
+            in the parameters may be a subset of those in the matching Tally.
 
         Returns
         -------
@@ -554,17 +564,16 @@ class StatePoint(object):
                 continue
 
             # Determine if Tally has queried estimator
-            if (estimator or exact) and estimator != test_tally.estimator:
+            if estimator and estimator != test_tally.estimator:
                 continue
 
             # The number of filters, nuclides and scores must exactly match
-            if exact:
-                if len(scores) != test_tally.num_scores:
-                    continue
-                if len(nuclides) != test_tally.num_nuclides:
-                    continue
-                if len(filters) != test_tally.num_filters:
-                    continue
+            if exact_scores and len(scores) != test_tally.num_scores:
+                continue
+            if exact_nuclides and len(nuclides) != test_tally.num_nuclides:
+                continue
+            if exact_filters and len(filters) != test_tally.num_filters:
+                continue
 
             # Determine if Tally has the queried score(s)
             if scores: