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