By means of leaks, drained bottles (5)
I believe the answer is:
vials
'bottles' is the definition.
(vial is a kind of bottle)
'by means of leaks drained' is the wordplay.
'by means of' becomes 'via' (via can mean 'by means of' or 'using').
'drained' suggests removing the centre.
'leaks' with its centre removed is 'ls'.
'via'+'ls'='VIALS'
(Other definitions for vials that I've seen before include "Small bottle that contains a drug" , "Small glass containers" , "Small bottles of medicine" , "Vessels" , "Ampoules" .)