Reading researchers and theorists are sharply divided as to how meaning is obtained from the printed word. Three current explanations are that (1) meaning is accessed directly, without any intermediate processes; (2) meaning is accessed only through an intermediate phonemic stage; and (3) both direct access and phonemic mediation can occur. To examine these alternative explanations, 24 college students were asked to make judgments about the "meaningfulness" of short phrases. Half of the phrases they saw were meaningful (potato chip), while the remaining half were nonmeaningful. These nonmeaningful phrases were divided into those that were meaningful when pronounced (income tacks) and those that did not sound meaningful (potato ship). The results demonstrated that the students were using a phonemic code in making decisions about the meaningfulness of the phrases. Both longer reaction times and higher error rates on the first exposure to nonmeaningful phrases that sounded meaningful indicated that such a code was being employed and that the code was interfering with meaningfulness decisions. (FL)