Is able in a way, but limited (5)
I believe the answer is:
scant
'limited' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'is able in a way' is the wordplay.
'is able' becomes 'can' (I've seen this before).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'a way' becomes 'st'.
'can' put inside 'st' is 'SCANT'.
'but' is the link.
(Other definitions for scant that I've seen before include "Less than the required amount" , "Scarcely sufficient" , "Barely adequate" , "Minimal (amount)" , "Deficient, sparing" .)