I was wondering what the literal translation really means. I've seen it translated as I'm home but I've also seen it in a few situations where the person wasn't arriving home.
Answer
The [ただいま]{LHHH} that you say when you arrive home is a contraction of ただ今帰りました.
(ただ = たった/just, 今 = now, 帰りました = (I) came back / came home / returned)
I think one other situation you're talking about might be where you say 「ただいま」, 'Certainly, sir' / 'Yes sir, I'll do that right away' / 'Yes, I'll be right with you', etc., when someone tells you to do something or calls you, and probably rushes you. I think this [ただいま]{LHLL} (with a stress on だ and a falling tone on いま) literally means 'right now' 'right away', like 「（はい、）たった今（行きます/参ります。」 or 「（はい、）今すぐに（します/やります）。」
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