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In Bulgarian both "homework" and "work" are countable. Why are they uncountable in English then? What is the difference in meaning that makes that happen?

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'Why'?' is a difficult question. Sometimes things just are. – Mitch Jan 17 '12 at 14:30

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Both are considered mass nouns, just like milk, air, etc.

However, work can also refer to a singular piece of creation (art, literature, plays, etc.), in which case it can be pluralized:

These are all the works of Shakespeare.

If you want to refer to a specific part of your work, you could use task:

I completed twelve tasks. I got a lot of work done today.

Likewise, if you want to refer to a single, discrete unit of homework, use assignment:

Our teacher gave us three assignments to complete by Friday.

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