Nothing left at home on returning (3)
I believe the answer is:
nil
'nothing' is the definition.
('nil' can be a synonym of 'nothing')
'left at home on returning' is the wordplay.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'at home' becomes 'in' ('in' can be similar in meaning to 'at home').
'on returning' is a reversal indicator.
'l'+'in'='lin'
'lin' in reverse letter order is 'NIL'.
(Other definitions for nil that I've seen before include "Latin zero" , "There's nothing left" , "Score of nought" , "Nothing, no value" , "Nothing, no score" .)