When this term is used in practice questions, or in chapter examples, Does it mean the bonds being referred to are bonds with embedded options or am i missing something here.
Effective Duration is used for all kinds of bonds including govt bonds etc in these questions
When the cash flows on a bond don’t change with a change in yield (e.g., on a fixed-rate bond with no embedded options), effective duration is the same as modified duration.
When the cash flows on a bond might change with a change in yield (e.g., a floating-rate bond, or a bond with embedded options), then effective duration might differ from modified duration.