Do potential employers contact all previous employers mentioned in the resume under "Work History" or do they only contact the ones listed as references?

Hello all you lovely Reddit folks! Reddit has come to my rescue before with job related questions so I'm hoping for some helpful insights once again. Here's the situation.

Potential employer wants three references.

- I have 3 past employers and 1 professor who can be my references.

- My resume mentions: 3 employers as Work Experience and one university education.

- For the references, I have 2 solid past employer references and one professor who I've done volunteer work for. All of them have said they will give me positive reviews.

- The 3rd employer said will only say "You have a great personality and you're smart but you weren't the best at the job. I will say you work best with some supervision and clear directions."

- I'm scared this last review from the 3rd employer will hurt my chances of getting hired. I'm thinking of leaving this employer out as reference, but I have already mentioned them in the resume as "work experience" and my potential employer knows I've worked with them.

If I don't list the employer who will give me a lowkey negative review as a reference (but they're still in my resume as work experience"), will they still be contacted by the HR of my potential new employer?

TL/DR: Do potential employers contact all previous employers mentioned in the resume under "Work History" or do they only contact the ones listed as references?

Thank you for your help and response. Hope you all are safe and well during these crazy Covid times.

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