Spanners

noun

1. A hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts; a wrench.

   "Pass me that spanner, Jake; there's just one more nut to screw in."

2. One who, or that which, spans.
3. A hand tool shaped like a small crank handle, for winding the spring of a wheel lock on a musket.
4. A device in early steam engines for moving the valves for the alternate admission and shutting off of the steam.
5. A problem, dilemma or obstacle; something unexpected or troublesome (in the phrase spanner in the works)