A potentiometer is a resistor with an wiper arm which can connect to the middle of the resistor. The wiper arm is movable, so you can contact the resistor at different points along its length. This means it effectively acts as two separate resistors who's sum is constant but who's values change as you turn the knob.

In this potentiometer, you have the two ends of the resistor connected to leads on one side of the components. The wiper arm is connected to a single lead on the other side of the component.