An inductive absolute position sensor of absolute or coarse spatial period T C, comprising: a scale and a reading head relatively movable along a measuring path, the reading head comprising multipolar sense windings of fine spatial period T F between like poles equal to the coarse spatial period T C divided by M, where M is an integer greater than one, a unipolar first drive winding generating a time-variable spatially homogenous field in or along the sense windings, and a multipolar second drive winding generating in or along the sense windings a time-variable spatially multipolar field of period T C /N along the measuring path, N equal to M+1 or M-1, the scale comprising a pattern of conducting or permeable features with a coupling characteristic from drive to sense windings as a function of the reading head's position along the scale substantially consisting of two spatially periodic components, one of period T F, the other of period T C or T C /(M+N), the sensor further comprising an electronic circuit connected to the first and second drive windings and to the sense windings, and arranged to operate in a first mode with the first drive winding enabled and the second drive winding disabled for measuring the position within a fine period T F, and a second mode with the second drive winding enabled and the first drive winding disabled for measuring the position within a period T C or T C /(M+N), and computational means for computing an absolute position from the position measured in the first mode and the position measured in the second mode. a scale and a reading head relatively movable along a measuring path, the reading head comprising multipolar sense windings of fine spatial period T F between like poles equal to the coarse spatial period T C divided by M, where M is an integer greater than one, a unipolar first drive winding generating a time-variable spatially homogenous field in or along the sense windings, and a multipolar second drive winding generating in or along the sense windings a time-variable spatially multipolar field of period T C /N along the measuring path, N equal to M+1 or M-1, multipolar sense windings of fine spatial period T F between like poles equal to the coarse spatial period T C divided by M, where M is an integer greater than one, a unipolar first drive winding generating a time-variable spatially homogenous field in or along the sense windings, and a multipolar second drive winding generating in or along the sense windings a time-variable spatially multipolar field of period T C /N along the measuring path, N equal to M+1 or M-1, the scale comprising a pattern of conducting or permeable features with a coupling characteristic from drive to sense windings as a function of the reading head's position along the scale substantially consisting of two spatially periodic components, one of period T F, the other of period T C or T C /(M+N), the sensor further comprising an electronic circuit connected to the first and second drive windings and to the sense windings, and arranged to operate in a first mode with the first drive winding enabled and the second drive winding disabled for measuring the position within a fine period T F, and a second mode with the second drive winding enabled and the first drive winding disabled for measuring the position within a period T C or T C /(M+N), and a first mode with the first drive winding enabled and the second drive winding disabled for measuring the position within a fine period T F, and a second mode with the second drive winding enabled and the first drive winding disabled for measuring the position within a period T C or T C /(M+N), and computational means for computing an absolute position from the position measured in the first mode and the position measured in the second mode.