Over the last two decades, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has become ubiquitous in ELT. In this article, I consider how differences in the way in which the framework is being interpreted by different powerful actors, including governments and for-profit organizations, affect its usability for ELT practitioners, a key segment of its intended audience and thus, at least in theory, key beneficiaries of its spread. I highlight three key paradoxes faced by ELT practitioners working with the framework, relating to whether CEFR is to be seen as a flexible point of reference or a set standard, whether the communicative competence described by CEFR is to be seen in a conventional, universal sense or from a more dynamic contemporary perspective, and whether CEFR is to be seen as associated with prepackaged methods (textbooks) or as a vehicle for the development of local pedagogies. I conclude by calling for deeper awareness of these paradoxes among ELT practitioners to support the productive implementation of CEFR.