NEW YORK—Gold made another run at the $1,000 mark Tuesday before a steep drop in oil prices put the brakes on the metal’s rally, dragging down other commodities in a big sell-off.

Crude prices fell more than $10 a barrel from their highest point in the day, beaten down as investors sold off stocks in response to growing worries about the health of the U.S. economy. Oil’s drop weighed on most major commodities, with corn, soybeans, silver, copper and other energy futures all trading sharply lower.

Gold began the day higher for a fifth session as mounting concerns over th...