Students' success in vocabulary learning is best gauged by authentic use of the targeted vocabulary in conversation and writing tasks. A vocabulary teaching approach that emphasizes meaningful repetition, relationship building, and concrete experiences encourages language development. This article explores a multi-age, multi-grade learning environment in an international school setting in Oman in the Middle East, where students' word study gradually departed from vocabulary identified as necessary according to age- and grade-level based materials and moved instead to focus on vocabulary that students needed to more appropriately describe their unique experiences in their community of practice (CoP).