Is there such a thing as a spell-checker that checks for words with double meanings?

No. Spell checkers are simple-minded and do not check usage or grammar. If a word that you’ve typed matches a word in the lexicon / database of the spell checker then it “passes”, whether the sentence makes sense or not.

A grammar checker may find the error you’ve noted, but that’s a higher order of programming.

I know the readability report extension for Open Office highlights words with multiple meanings inline, but I’ve certainly never seen an extension or program other than the grammar checker (which I always turn off) that might be able to take care of valid mis-spellings.

I have noticed that google will some times pick up on this kind of thing in a short search, but not on everything.

@the100thmonkey I use Open Office, I’ll take a look, thanks.

@poisonedantidote – no problem. You beat me to the Google observation!

There used to be. They were called *editors.”

You mean a homonym-checker built into a spell-checker? Dream on! Maybe in a century or two—or when computers truly understand natural human language in some manner approaching they way we humans understand it.

Then they’ll be able to turn broken, stammering, illiterate, inarticulate speech into flowing Victorian prose. Until then I say again dream on!

@gailcalled or ‘editors’. Ahem.