Iteratively creating & naming numerical variables

Hello, I am trying to make a for loop in which I reference a different wave and create a new variable (with a corresponding name) in each iteration, each with specific names. [I think] I was able to do the wave part by iteratively making the string:

string waveref = "waveN2_" + num2str(i+1)

and then calling that specific wave (waveN2_1, waveN2_2, etc.) with $waveref, but I can't figure out how to iteratively make new numerical variables, with corresponding names (E_1, E_2, etc.). I'd then like to assign values to those newly-created&named variables within the loop.

Thank you!