diff --git a/src/plugins/coreplugin/helpitem.cpp b/src/plugins/coreplugin/helpitem.cpp
index b8794481cfe..d63bd883dea 100644
--- a/src/plugins/coreplugin/helpitem.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/coreplugin/helpitem.cpp
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ static const HelpItem::Links getBestLink(const HelpItem::Links &links)
 
 const HelpItem::Links HelpItem::bestLinks() const
 {
-    if (m_isFuzzyMatch)
+    if (isFuzzyMatch())
         return getBestLinks(links());
     return getBestLink(links());
 }
@@ -279,3 +279,10 @@ const QString HelpItem::keyword() const
 {
     return m_keyword;
 }
+
+bool HelpItem::isFuzzyMatch() const
+{
+    // make sure m_isFuzzyMatch is correct
+    links();
+    return m_isFuzzyMatch;
+}
diff --git a/src/plugins/coreplugin/helpitem.h b/src/plugins/coreplugin/helpitem.h
index 4d9ab153fb8..15ff585ca82 100644
--- a/src/plugins/coreplugin/helpitem.h
+++ b/src/plugins/coreplugin/helpitem.h
@@ -86,6 +86,8 @@ public:
     const QString keyword() const;
 
 private:
+    bool isFuzzyMatch() const;
+
     QUrl m_helpUrl;
     QStringList m_helpIds;
     QString m_docMark;