diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.test.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.test.tsx
index 81b44058fda..b8175a171a9 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.test.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.test.tsx
@@ -82,5 +82,28 @@ describe('MultiFilters', () => {
         'my-key': ['my-value1', 'my-value2'],
       });
     });
+
+    describe('when editing an existing filter item key', () => {
+      it('it should change the key and call onChange', async () => {
+        const filters = { 'my-key': ['my-value'] };
+        const onChange = jest.fn();
+        render(<MultiFilter filters={filters} onChange={onChange} />);
+
+        const filterItemElement = screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item');
+        expect(filterItemElement).toBeInTheDocument();
+        expect(within(filterItemElement).getByDisplayValue('my-key')).toBeInTheDocument();
+        expect(within(filterItemElement).getByDisplayValue('my-value')).toBeInTheDocument();
+
+        const keyElement = screen.getByTestId('cloudwatch-multifilter-item-key');
+        expect(keyElement).toBeInTheDocument();
+        userEvent.type(keyElement!, '2');
+        fireEvent.blur(keyElement!);
+
+        expect(within(filterItemElement).getByDisplayValue('my-key2')).toBeInTheDocument();
+        expect(onChange).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+          'my-key2': ['my-value'],
+        });
+      });
+    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.tsx
index 4ac614445b0..8e9637f8f8d 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilter.tsx
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { MultiFilterItem } from './MultiFilterItem';
 export interface Props {
   filters?: MultiFilters;
   onChange: (filters: MultiFilters) => void;
+  keyPlaceholder?: string;
 }
 
 export interface MultiFilterCondition {
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ const filterConditionsToMultiFilters = (filters: MultiFilterCondition[]) => {
   return res;
 };
 
-export const MultiFilter: React.FC<Props> = ({ filters, onChange }) => {
+export const MultiFilter: React.FC<Props> = ({ filters, onChange, keyPlaceholder }) => {
   const [items, setItems] = useState<MultiFilterCondition[]>([]);
   useEffect(() => setItems(filters ? multiFiltersToFilterConditions(filters) : []), [filters]);
   const onFiltersChange = (newItems: Array<Partial<MultiFilterCondition>>) => {
@@ -42,13 +43,23 @@ export const MultiFilter: React.FC<Props> = ({ filters, onChange }) => {
     }
   };
 
-  return <EditorList items={items} onChange={onFiltersChange} renderItem={renderFilter} />;
+  return <EditorList items={items} onChange={onFiltersChange} renderItem={makeRenderFilter(keyPlaceholder)} />;
 };
 
-function renderFilter(
-  item: MultiFilterCondition,
-  onChange: (item: MultiFilterCondition) => void,
-  onDelete: () => void
-) {
-  return <MultiFilterItem filter={item} onChange={(item) => onChange(item)} onDelete={onDelete} />;
+function makeRenderFilter(keyPlaceholder?: string) {
+  function renderFilter(
+    item: MultiFilterCondition,
+    onChange: (item: MultiFilterCondition) => void,
+    onDelete: () => void
+  ) {
+    return (
+      <MultiFilterItem
+        filter={item}
+        onChange={(item) => onChange(item)}
+        onDelete={onDelete}
+        keyPlaceholder={keyPlaceholder}
+      />
+    );
+  }
+  return renderFilter;
 }
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilterItem.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilterItem.tsx
index 9d4f9f4f9ec..8eb34996eeb 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilterItem.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/MultiFilterItem.tsx
@@ -9,9 +9,10 @@ export interface Props {
   filter: MultiFilterCondition;
   onChange: (value: MultiFilterCondition) => void;
   onDelete: () => void;
+  keyPlaceholder?: string;
 }
 
-export const MultiFilterItem: FunctionComponent<Props> = ({ filter, onChange, onDelete }) => {
+export const MultiFilterItem: FunctionComponent<Props> = ({ filter, onChange, onDelete, keyPlaceholder }) => {
   const [localKey, setLocalKey] = useState(filter.key || '');
   const [localValue, setLocalValue] = useState(filter.value?.join(', ') || '');
   const theme = useTheme2();
@@ -24,11 +25,11 @@ export const MultiFilterItem: FunctionComponent<Props> = ({ filter, onChange, on
           data-testid="cloudwatch-multifilter-item-key"
           aria-label="Filter key"
           value={localKey}
-          placeholder="key"
+          placeholder={keyPlaceholder ?? 'key'}
           onChange={(e) => setLocalKey(e.currentTarget.value)}
           onBlur={() => {
             if (localKey && localKey !== filter.key) {
-              onChange({ key: localKey, value: undefined });
+              onChange({ ...filter, key: localKey });
             }
           }}
         />
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ export const MultiFilterItem: FunctionComponent<Props> = ({ filter, onChange, on
           placeholder="value1, value2,..."
           onChange={(e) => setLocalValue(e.currentTarget.value)}
           onBlur={() => {
-            const newValues = localValue.replace(' ', '').split(',');
+            const newValues = localValue.split(',').map((v) => v.trim());
             if (localValue && newValues !== filter.value) {
               onChange({ ...filter, value: newValues });
             }
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.tsx
index 95b42c1b37c..b69362e8ed6 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/VariableQueryEditor/VariableQueryEditor.tsx
@@ -171,13 +171,14 @@ export const VariableQueryEditor = ({ query, datasource, onChange }: Props) => {
           <InlineField
             label="Filters"
             labelWidth={20}
-            tooltip='Pre-defined ec2:DescribeInstances filters/tags and the values to filter on. Tags should be formatted "tag:<name>" '
+            tooltip='Pre-defined ec2:DescribeInstances filters/tags and the values to filter on. Tags should be formatted "tag:<name>. See the documentation for more details.'
           >
             <MultiFilter
               filters={parsedQuery.ec2Filters}
               onChange={(filters) => {
                 onChange({ ...parsedQuery, ec2Filters: filters });
               }}
+              keyPlaceholder="filter/tag"
             />
           </InlineField>
         </>
@@ -196,6 +197,7 @@ export const VariableQueryEditor = ({ query, datasource, onChange }: Props) => {
               onChange={(filters) => {
                 onChange({ ...parsedQuery, tags: filters });
               }}
+              keyPlaceholder="tag"
             />
           </InlineField>
         </>