In regards to electricity, many people have two switches in some of their rooms that are used often. For example, in a dining room or living room where there are two doors or pathways into the room, there are more likely two light switches that can be accessed from entering one of the two doors. When this happens, the switches must have a three-way switch. This means that the overhead light can be controlled by one of the two light switches.
It is helpful to have a three-way switch when two switches are needed in different parts of the room. Therefore, the purpose of the 3-way switch is to have two locations in order to control the electricity for the one light or electrical device in one area.