The English word 'church' can mean a building used for Christian worship, or it can mean the congregation, the collective body of Christian worshippers, either globally or those that regularly meet together for worship in/at a particular location or in a particular country.
The word 'church' stems from the Greek word kyriakon* (= of the Lord), and was applied to a group of people 'of the Lord', and to a building 'of the Lord.'
The Greek word kyriakon became kyriake, which became kirk in Northern England and Scotland; cerkovin Russia; and criky in Old Church Slavonic.
The Old English word written cirice (meaning "church") seems to have been the English version/spelling of kyrikae.And the word cirice evolved into the word with which we are more familiar: 'church.'
Evidence that the word 'church' originally meant 'congregation' (body of worshippers) can be found in the references to a 'church in a house' in these Bible verses:
(See also Matthew 18:17; Acts 5:11; 14:27; 20:28; 1 Cor 15:23; 2 Cor 16:19; Col 1:18)
FOOTNOTE
*kyrios is Greek for lord or ruler.