Mark's short visit home (5)
I believe the answer is:
stain
'mark's' is the definition.
('stain' can be a synonym of 'mark')
'short visit home' is the wordplay.
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'visit' becomes 'stay' (I've seen this before).
'home' becomes 'in' ('he's home' can mean 'he's in').
'stay' with its final letter taken off is 'sta'.
'sta'+'in'='STAIN'
(Other definitions for stain that I've seen before include "Discoloration" , "Colour, dye" , "Mark with colour, dirt" , "Discolouring mark" , "Blemish; colour (wood)" .)