The amount of work you do depends on the amount of force you use and the distance you use this force for.
Examples:
Walking up the stairs is more work than walking down the stairs, because even though we are talking about the same distance, it's more force to go up than down.
Walking a mile is more work than walking a block (at same pace, same type of terrain, etc.), because even though the work is at the same rate, the distance is longer.
Hope I helped!
- Amber