sub foo { my $window = "a b X20 c X5 d e X17 X12"; my @o = () if pos; # conditional declaration makes @o "static" @o = (); # reset it always my @m = ($window =~ m/(X\d+(?{push @o, pos()}))/g); print "Matches: @m"; print "Offsets: @o"; print " "; } __END__ Matches: X20 X5 X17 X12 Offsets: 7 12 20 24 Matches: X20 X5 X17 X12 Offsets: 7 12 20 24 Matches: X20 X5 X17 X12 Offsets: 7 12 20 24