In this work, a variety of distinct kinds of multiple soliton solutions is derived for a ( 3?+?1)-dimensional nonlinear evolution equation. The simplified form of the Hirota's method is used to derive this set of distinct kinds of multiple soliton solutions. The coefficients of the spatial variables play a major role in the existence of this variety of multiple soliton solutions for the same equation. The resonance phenomenon is investigated as well. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.