graduation exercise vs commencement exercise

graduation exercise and commencement exercise both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
graduation exercise	Yes	No	No	No
commencement exercise	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, graduation exercise and commencement exercise are synonyms defined as:

graduation exercise and commencement exercise: an academic exercise in which diplomas are conferred

Other synonyms of graduation exercise include commencement, commencement ceremony, graduation.

graduation exercise (noun)	commencement exercise (noun)
an academic exercise in which diplomas are conferred	an academic exercise in which diplomas are conferred