If the word 'short' comes directly before the noun referring to a person (as an attributive adjective) it can only refer to the person's size. He was a short teacher = He was a teacher who was below average height. As a predicative adjective, it can mean the same ( He was short = He wasn't tall), or it could mean that the person spoke in an abrupt or curt manner. The teacher was short [with me] = The answer that he gave me sounded rude and impatient.

"Short" can sometimes mean "rude" and "unfriendly". To be short with someone is to talk in an angry way, but here I would take it to mean he was not as tall as most people - small. More context would help ;)

I think it means he was short in height. If it means something else, like 'temporary' (for a short time), the sentence is wrong.

Ah, I see. It sounds strange to me because the use of the past tense implies that the teacher is not short in the present day O.O Maybe he had a growth spurt? Lol.

Joseline, unfortunatelly no. It's just a single sentence..