1995 Mercury Villager water pump

I've been noticing a noise the past couple of weeks comming from under the hood like a bad drive belt pulley. I hear squeeks and knocking sounds that a bad bearing would make. Today I see that coolant is leaking from the pump area. Also after further inspection I can see play in the pumps pulley main bearing shaft while the engine is in idle. I'm almost sure the pump is bad and needs to be replaced, but my question is are loud knocking and squeeking noises common on bad water pumps or should I be looking for something else? The knocking is not comming from the engine such as a rod knock I'm sure of that. Any help wil greatly be appreciated. Thank you, Larry