This is a pretty open-ended question. In addition to AdSense, there are other networks that can be utilized to display ads in your site or app.
There are also companies that work with multiple networks (like Adsense, and others). They usually charge a fee or take a cut of your revenue. Google calls them publishing partners. Their list can be found here: https://www.google.com/ads/publisher/partners.
After this investigation, I went back and had a second look at AdSense. In my initial quick look around, I missed the manual ad configuration mode. In this mode you can pick from four different ad types. After including the AdSense script, you add the AdSense HTML snippet where you want an ad to run then invoke a line of JavaScript which causes the ad to be populated.