Does "commute to" refer to both there and back from work?

Solution 1:

Using the word 'to' adds a sense of direction (that being towards place of work).

I would use:

"my daily commute"

since the word commute already describes the travel between work.

Solution 2:

In OP's context, "commute" would normally include both journeys, but since "commuting" in this sense invariably implies "to and from work", the explicit mention of "to work" could mean only the outward journey.

Having said that, I think it would be a perverse interpretation to automatically assume only the outward journey was intended. But I wouldn't think it was unusual if the utterance went on to force that interpretation...

...so I have something to do during my commute to work, but on the return journey I have a drink in the buffet car with colleagues.

Here's an NGram showing over 110K instances of "commute to", with less than 5K for "commute to and from". By definition 50% of every commuter's journeys are coming home – I seriously doubt they're talking about the outward journey over 95% of the time!

Solution 3:

"Commute to work" does imply, as you suggest, your morning trip in the direction towards work. It is not obvious that it refers to both directions.

The first definition of 'to' in the OALD is:

(1) in the direction of something; towards something
I walked to the office.

Many other meanings are similar: the word that follows "to" will usually be understood to be the second half of a comparison, or the item that an action is directed toward. So, you are correct that

My commute to and from work

would be a clearer way to state this. You might also say, "my commute," if you don't mind a little ambiguity (a listener will have to determine from context whether you mean your commute in general or a specific direction), or "my morning and evening commute."

Solution 4:

No, it does not clearly refer to the trip both ways. I would understand it to be only the trip to work, or possibly to be unspecific about whether the return trip is included. If you need to be clear on this, you would have to specify that you actually mean both ways.

Solution 5:

"Commute" does have the meaning of going and coming back:

to travel regularly over some distance, as from a suburb into a city and back: He commutes to work by train.

However, it wouldn't be very clear. Not a lot of people know this. A better alternative is:

I bring an e-reader with me everyday so that I can have something to do when I journey to work to and fro.