The word score has several meanings:

1. A number that shows how well someone performed or how many points they earned. In basketball, the score might be 42 to 38. On a spelling test, your score might be 95 out of 100. The score tells you who's winning or how well you did.
2. To earn points or achieve success. A soccer player scores a goal when she kicks the ball into the net. You might score well on a test by studying hard. Sometimes people say they scored tickets to a concert, meaning they successfully got something valuable or hard to obtain.
3. A group of twenty. While less common today, fourscore means eighty (four twenties). Abraham Lincoln began the Gettysburg Address with “Four score and seven years ago,” meaning 87 years earlier.
4. The written music for a piece, showing all the parts for different instruments or voices. An orchestra follows the score so everyone plays together. A film score is the music composed specifically for a movie.

When someone asks “What's the score?” during a game, they want to know who's ahead. When they ask about the score in a situation, they're asking what's really going on: “So what's the score with the science fair project?”