A magneto-elastic force sensor includes a sensor head (1) that has an emitting coil (9) which generates a magnetic field and at least one magnetic field sensor (11) for measuring a magnetic flux caused by the magnetic field of the emitting coil (9) in a measured object (13). The sensor head (1) also includes a recorder (14) for recording an electrical value that reflects the inductivity of the emitting coil (9) or that is clearly connected to the latter. The magneto-elastic force sensor allows for compensation of a distance dependency in the measurement signal by ascertaining the distance between the emitting coil (9) or the sensor head (1) and the measured object (13) based on the recorded electrical value and by compensating the distance dependency in the measurement signal based on the ascertained distance.