A town hall can refer to different things depending on the context. Here are the different meanings of a town hall:

1. Town hall meeting: A town hall meeting is a public forum where local and national politicians meet with their constituents to hear from them on topics of interest or to discuss specific upcoming legislation or regulation. During periods of active political debate, town halls can be a locus for protest and more active debate. Attendees use town halls to voice their opinions and question elected officials, political candidates, and public figures. These meetings can take place in a range of venues, including schools, libraries, municipal buildings, and churches. A number of officials have also experimented with digital formats for town halls.

2. Town hall building: A town hall building is a public building used for town-government offices and meetings. It usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments, and their employees. It also usually functions as the base of the mayor of a city, town, etc. By convention, until the middle of the 19th century, a single large open chamber (or "hall") formed an integral part of the building housing the council. The hall may be used for council meetings and other significant events. This large chamber, the "town hall" (and its later variant "city hall") has become synonymous with the whole building, and with the administrative body housed in it. The terms "council chambers", "municipal building" or variants may be used locally in preference to "town hall" if no such large hall is present within the building. In many cases, "town halls" serve not only as buildings for government functions, but also have facilities for various civic and cultural activities. These may include art shows, stage performances, exhibits, and festivals. Modern town halls or "civic centers" are often designed with a great variety and flexibility of purpose in mind. In Commonwealth countries, the term "town hall" may be used even in a city. This is often the case in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere.

3. Town hall meeting in a company: A town hall meeting in a company is a way for a companys management to meet and connect with their employees. Company town hall meetings tend to be hosted by a member of upper management and are attended by all employees either in a large meeting space or conference hall or via virtual platforms like Zoom. Town hall meetings have three primary purposes: align the company to the same goals, close the gap between management and employees, and build corporate culture. While people often use the two terms interchangeably, a town hall meeting is more of a question-and-answer-based affair. In contrast, all-hands meetings are generally more focused on conveying a message and making a key presentation. These meetings usually follow a strict plan that includes an opening address, a state of the company presentation, addressing the results of a poll sent before the meeting, features/initiatives in focus, Q&A, ending points, survey, minutes shared, and post-mortem. Zoom and video calls are becoming the norm thanks to the increase in remote working. Using these platforms for town hall meetings has been commonplace for a while now. Sometimes it’s simply not possible for everyone to be in the same place at once, so hosting a virtual town hall offers a way to involve everyone without the need to travel.