Position measuring device comprising • a graduation carrier (12, 112) which has a measurement graduation (13, 113) and is connected to a shaft in a rotationally fixed manner, • a scanning unit (15, 115) having scanning elements (14, 114) for generating scanning signals (A, B) by scanning the measurement graduation (13, 113), • evaluation electronics which are configured to process scanning signals (A, B) to form a digital angle value (α) of the shaft, • an interface unit for communicating with downstream electronics, wherein the scanning unit (15, 115) is mounted on a machine part (50, 210) which is movably mounted in an axial direction of the shaft, such that the scanning signals (A, B) are dependent on the position of the machine part (50, 210) in the axial direction of the shaft, and wherein the evaluation electronics are configured to determine a measure of this position of the machine part (50, 210) from the scanning signals (A, B), and • wherein the graduation carrier is disc-shaped and the measurement graduation is arranged radially around the axis of rotation of the shaft in a measurement graduation plane which is arranged perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shaft, • wherein the evaluation electronics are configured to determine a scanning distance between the measurement graduation and the scanning unit, wherein the scanning distance is a measure of the position of the machine part (50, 210) in the axial direction of the shaft, • wherein the position measuring device is configured to be operated in a normal mode or in a distance measuring mode, • wherein the scanning distance can be changed in a first range (ΔD1) in the normal mode, and • the scanning distance can be changed in a second range (ΔD2), which is greater than the first range (ΔD1) and includes the latter, in the distance measuring mode for measuring the position of the machine part (50, 210). • a graduation carrier (12, 112) which has a measurement graduation (13, 113) and is connected to a shaft in a rotationally fixed manner, • a scanning unit (15, 115) having scanning elements (14, 114) for generating scanning signals (A, B) by scanning the measurement graduation (13, 113), • evaluation electronics which are configured to process scanning signals (A, B) to form a digital angle value (α) of the shaft, • an interface unit for communicating with downstream electronics, wherein the scanning unit (15, 115) is mounted on a machine part (50, 210) which is movably mounted in an axial direction of the shaft, such that the scanning signals (A, B) are dependent on the position of the machine part (50, 210) in the axial direction of the shaft, and wherein the evaluation electronics are configured to determine a measure of this position of the machine part (50, 210) from the scanning signals (A, B), and • wherein the graduation carrier is disc-shaped and the measurement graduation is arranged radially around the axis of rotation of the shaft in a measurement graduation plane which is arranged perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shaft, • wherein the evaluation electronics are configured to determine a scanning distance between the measurement graduation and the scanning unit, wherein the scanning distance is a measure of the position of the machine part (50, 210) in the axial direction of the shaft, • wherein the position measuring device is configured to be operated in a normal mode or in a distance measuring mode, • wherein the scanning distance can be changed in a first range (ΔD1) in the normal mode, and • the scanning distance can be changed in a second range (ΔD2), which is greater than the first range (ΔD1) and includes the latter, in the distance measuring mode for measuring the position of the machine part (50, 210). • wherein the graduation carrier is disc-shaped and the measurement graduation is arranged radially around the axis of rotation of the shaft in a measurement graduation plane which is arranged perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shaft, • wherein the evaluation electronics are configured to determine a scanning distance between the measurement graduation and the scanning unit, wherein the scanning distance is a measure of the position of the machine part (50, 210) in the axial direction of the shaft, • wherein the position measuring device is configured to be operated in a normal mode or in a distance measuring mode, • wherein the scanning distance can be changed in a first range (ΔD1) in the normal mode, and • the scanning distance can be changed in a second range (ΔD2), which is greater than the first range (ΔD1) and includes the latter, in the distance measuring mode for measuring the position of the machine part (50, 210).