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Description: Communication with young children is often multimodal in nature, involving, for example, language and actions. This multimodal input supports language learning when it highlights the connection of word and object. But multimodal input can also guide the child’s attention away from the language input, and thus, exacerbate learning. In the current study, we therefore examined the influence of semantic consistency of actions on early word learning. Children (18 months, 30 months, 36 - 48 months) and adults were presented with two novel objects and their novel labels while different actions were performed on these objects, such that the pairing of actions and objects was either consistent (Consistent group) or varied across trials (Inconsistent group). At test, participants saw both objects and heard one of the labels to examine participants’ target looking upon hearing its label. Only 3- to 4-year-olds and adults learned word-object associations with the children benefiting from consistent and adults from the inconsistent action presentations. Thus, consistency in the multimodal input facilitated word learning in early childhood. In terms of a dynamic systems account of word learning, our study shows how multimodal learning settings interact with the child’s perceptual abilities, and how the interaction can therefore shape the learning experience.