Techniques for supporting communication over an extended range in a wireless network are disclosed. In one aspect, a station sends multiple messages of a given type for different operating modes. These messages can be detected by stations with different capabilities, which may avoid collisions between stations. In one design, a first station receives a Request-to-Send (RTS) message from a second station having data to send. The first station sends a first Clear-to-Send (CTS) message and also a second CTS message in response to the RTS message. The second CTS message has an extended range as compared to the first CTS message. The first station thereafter (i) receives data sent by the second station in response to the second CTS message and (ii) sends an acknowledgement having an extended range.