Final answer:
Muscles move bones by contracting and pulling on tendons attached to the bones, which causes the bones to move like levers with joints serving as fulcrums.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that best describes how a muscle moves a bone is that skeletal muscles contract, which pulls on tendons that are connected to bones, causing movement. Muscles work across a joint and are attached to both sides of a joint by tendons, which are strong cords of connective tissue. When these muscles contract, they shorten and pull on bones, making them move like levers with joints acting as fulcrums. This is how the muscles facilitate movement in the body by applying force to the skeleton.