There are huge complexities in controlling your wave, and sometimes even uncontrollable variables you want to plan for.

Simple wave control is something like -- I can freeze this wave because it's pushing towards me, so I'll clear only enough of it that I can hold the opposing 3-5 ranged minions outside my tower long enough for my wave to approach, then only last hit enemy creeps during the last animation of my minions before they die, to minimize my influence on the wave, and allowing it to stabilize in one location(usually near your own tower).

Other simple techniques are dive control. You can setup dives on enemies, not by pushing the wave as fast as you can, but holding the wave at about 60% toward their tower, only killing off 1 additional ranged creep from their wave. This way, your creep wave is always pushing, but it will take some time, allowing a second wave of your minions to approach while you still have a few alive from the original wave. You can then quickly eliminate their 2nd wave and push into the tower with 8-12 creeps and have more pressure to dive with.

You can also use more long term methods in controlling waves. For instance, if you want to pressure level 2 on your opponent, or have an opportunity to force something by shoving. You can setup your level two by killing the first wave+1 melee faster than your opponent, giving you level 2 first and effectively allowing you to zone him or all in him.

Now you're pushing, but rather than just shove since you don't want to be gankable, since this can often allow your opponent to hold the ranged creeps and keep himself safe longer, outside of some elise dives.

You can instead slow shove the wave, and based on how you do it, you can force a much larger wave of your creeps into his tower at 3:30-5:00, and the two new waves will meet just outside your opponent's tower, and slowly push back to yours. During this time you can recall and get a better buy than your opponent, or you can setup a gank with your jungler long in advance, knowing he'll be around the top side or allowing him to plan for it when the wave has pushed back to your side of the lane, so you can zone your opponent out or outright kill him.

You can also setup waves in the mid game so that they build on each other in order to make what people call slow pushes. By only killing 2 ranged creeps out of a wave of 6, then leaving, your minions will push incredibly slowly toward their tower, essentially creating a "zz'rot effect" on the lane, and forcing a response from the enemy. With a slow pushing top wave, a teleport champion in the bot lane(often with someone shadowing him), and the other 3-4 members pressuring the mid lane, you can create immense, hard to deal with pressure on unprepared enemies.

Theres a lot more and there are complex variables that go into it, but these are the basic concepts. Learning to maximize the value and plan for any number of variable situations that may occur while executing these strategies is what you get from practice.