Why/or how does "Heiße" mean both "hot" and "am called"?

Why/or how does "Heiße" mean both "hot" and "am called"?
The following two example in the first 3 lessons:

1. Ich heiße Nik = I am called Nik
2. Heiße Schokolade = Hot chocolate

Lokke dfor an answer online and found none. May be WAY more advanced, but my curiosity is engaged now.

Thanks!

-David

I don't have a good answer for you.  If there is one, I don't know what it is, but consider English.  We have hundreds, probably thousands of words with multiple meanings.  German is the same way.  Let's stay with your example of "hot".  It is hot today.  She is hot!  This is a hot topic, etc.  Words morph into multiple meanings in most languages I expect.

Also, in your example, heiße is used a verb in one instance and as a noun in another.  I can't think of a good example in English right now but there are many and depending on the form, the meaning is different.

All languages have their little foibles. When you are learning a foreign languages there may be no obvious explanation for something. You just have to bite the bullet and move on otherwise you will bog yourself down in relatively unimportant detail. Sometimes things do become clear later on and sometimes they just pale into insignificance besides all the things that you do properly understand. Good luck with the German.

Hi David,
As an addendum to Byron's post, consider the English word 'bear'. As a verb it means 'to carry', or sometimes 'to give birth to', but as a noun it means a large animal.

I'm sure there are many others, but we usually know the correct meaning from the context.

For instance 'mean', which as an adjective means 'miserly', and as a verb suggests a definition.