diff --git a/cranelift/docs/compare-llvm.rst b/cranelift/docs/compare-llvm.rst
index 6afc5ed419..abc47caaa3 100644
--- a/cranelift/docs/compare-llvm.rst
+++ b/cranelift/docs/compare-llvm.rst
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ Program structure
 
 In LLVM IR, the largest representable unit is the *module* which corresponds
 more or less to a C translation unit. It is a collection of functions and
-global values that may contain references to external symbols too.
+global variables that may contain references to external symbols too.
 
 In Cretonne IR, the largest representable unit is the *function*. This is so
 that functions can easily be compiled in parallel without worrying about
diff --git a/cranelift/docs/langref.rst b/cranelift/docs/langref.rst
index 3736565f94..7630066550 100644
--- a/cranelift/docs/langref.rst
+++ b/cranelift/docs/langref.rst
@@ -554,21 +554,18 @@ stack overflow checks in the prologue.
     the stack pointer has reached or exceeded the limit, generate a trap with a
     ``stk_ovf`` code.
 
-    The global value must be accessible and naturally aligned for a
-    pointer-sized value.
-
     Setting `stack_limit` is an alternative way to detect stack overflow, when using
     a calling convention that doesn't perform stack probes.
 
-Global variables
-----------------
+Global values
+-------------
 
-A *global value* is an :term:`accessible` object in memory whose address is
-not known at compile time. The address is computed at runtime by
-:inst:`global_value`, possibly using information provided by the linker via
-relocations. There are multiple kinds of global values using different
-methods for determining their address. Cretonne does not track the type or even
-the size of global values, they are just pointers to non-stack memory.
+A *global value* is an object whose value is not known at compile time. The
+value is computed at runtime by :inst:`global_value`, possibly using
+information provided by the linker via relocations. There are multiple
+kinds of global values using different methods for determining their value.
+Cretonne does not track the type of a global value, for they are just 
+values stored in non-stack memory.
 
 When Cretonne is generating code for a virtual machine environment, globals can
 be used to access data structures in the VM's runtime. This requires functions
diff --git a/lib/codegen/src/legalizer/heap.rs b/lib/codegen/src/legalizer/heap.rs
index ab68976d57..3655d7fa5a 100644
--- a/lib/codegen/src/legalizer/heap.rs
+++ b/lib/codegen/src/legalizer/heap.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 use cursor::{Cursor, FuncCursor};
 use flowgraph::ControlFlowGraph;
 use ir::condcodes::IntCC;
-use ir::{self, InstBuilder, MemFlags};
+use ir::{self, InstBuilder};
 use isa::TargetIsa;
 
 /// Expand a `heap_addr` instruction according to the definition of the heap.
@@ -57,12 +57,7 @@ fn dynamic_addr(
     pos.use_srcloc(inst);
 
     // Start with the bounds check. Trap if `offset + size > bound`.
-    let bound_addr = pos.ins().global_value(addr_ty, bound_gv);
-    let mut mflags = MemFlags::new();
-    // The bound variable is requied to be accessible and aligned.
-    mflags.set_notrap();
-    mflags.set_aligned();
-    let bound = pos.ins().load(offset_ty, mflags, bound_addr, 0);
+    let bound = pos.ins().global_value(addr_ty, bound_gv);
 
     let oob;
     if size == 1 {
@@ -163,12 +158,7 @@ fn offset_addr(
     match pos.func.heaps[heap].base {
         ir::HeapBase::ReservedReg => unimplemented!(),
         ir::HeapBase::GlobalValue(base_gv) => {
-            let base_addr = pos.ins().global_value(addr_ty, base_gv);
-            let mut mflags = MemFlags::new();
-            // The base address variable is requied to be accessible and aligned.
-            mflags.set_notrap();
-            mflags.set_aligned();
-            let base = pos.ins().load(addr_ty, mflags, base_addr, 0);
+            let base = pos.ins().global_value(addr_ty, base_gv);
             pos.func.dfg.replace(inst).iadd(base, offset);
         }
     }
diff --git a/lib/wasm/src/environ/spec.rs b/lib/wasm/src/environ/spec.rs
index 4d97a34cc5..38ed9e6f1b 100644
--- a/lib/wasm/src/environ/spec.rs
+++ b/lib/wasm/src/environ/spec.rs
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ pub trait FuncEnvironment {
     ///
     /// The index space covers both imported globals and globals defined by the module.
     ///
-    /// Return the global value reference that should be used to access the global and the
+    /// Return the global variable reference that should be used to access the global and the
     /// WebAssembly type of the global.
     fn make_global(&mut self, func: &mut ir::Function, index: GlobalIndex) -> GlobalValue;