Note the difference between $result = get_values() and ($result) = get_values()

$ perl -wl
sub get_values {
    return ('a', 'b', 'c');
}

my $result = undef;
$result = get_values();
print $result;

($result) = get_values();
print $result;
__END__
c
a
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You should be aware of Context (perl.com). The wantarray builtin tells you the calling context:

$ perl
sub check_context {
    # True
    if ( wantarray ) {
        print "List context\n";
    }
    # False, but defined
    elsif ( defined wantarray ) {
        print "Scalar context\n";
    }
    # False and undefined
    else {
        print "Void context\n";
    }
}

my @x       = check_context();  # prints 'List context'
my %x       = check_context();  # prints 'List context'
my ($x, $y) = check_context();  # prints 'List context'

my $x       = check_context();  # prints 'Scalar context'

check_context();                # prints 'Void context'
__END__
List context
List context
List context
Scalar context
Void context
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There are several modules that addresses context and return values, e.g. Contextual::Return.