this is the dark arts ^ ^,
but seriously, I think other monks won't approve, still:

for $x (f .. j){
chomp(${$x} = <DATA>);
}

print "$f $g $h $i $j\n";

__DATA__
a
b
c
d
e
[download]

update*
addressing the authors exact demands
here an addition:

do{for $x (i, g, k){
chomp(${$x} = <DATA>);
} print "$i $g $k\n";} until eof;

__DATA__
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
[download]

output:

a b c
d e f
g h
[download]