There isn't any semantic ambiguity. The phrase "pass by reference" has a specific meaning. Java does not support pass by reference. Here's a quick test to see if your language uses pass by reference (when translated into Java, it will output "pass by value"):

    function f(x, y) { x = y }
    a = new A()
    b = new A()
    assert(a != b)
    f(a, b)
    if (a == b) {
        print('pass by reference')
    } else {
        print('pass by value')
    }