  Hotspots of radio galaxies are regions of shock-driven particle acceleration.
Multiple hotspots have long been identified as potential indicators of jet
movement or precession. Two frequent explanations describe a secondary hotspot
as either the location of a prior jet termination point, or a deflected
backflow-driven shock: the so-called Dentist's Drill and Splatter Spot models.
We created high-resolution simulations of precessing jets with a range of
parameters. In addition to the existing mechanisms, our results show three
additional mechanisms for multiple hotspot formation: (1) the splitting of a
large terminal hotspots into passive and active components; (2) jet stream
splitting resulting in two active hotspots; (3) dynamic multiple hotspot
complexes that form as a result of jet termination in a turbulent cocoon,
linked here to rapid precession. We show that these distinct types of multiple
hotspots are difficult to differentiate in synthetic radio maps, particularly
hotspot complexes which can easily be mistaken for the jet itself. We discuss
the implication for hypothesised binary supermassive black hole systems where
jet precession is a key component of the morphology, and show a selection of
potential precession candidates found using the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey Data
Release 2 (LoTSS DR2).
