I have a 1998 Jeep Cherokee and when I’m driving it I hear a loud noise coming from the front axle/ maybe steering but the front yoke has up and down play and you can turn the drive shaft and it moves backwards and forward about a inch or two and the stops and this is with the tires on the ground do I have a Bad bearing or do I have a bad front yoke?

 

Up and down movement on your front yoke is not normal. How much are we talking here? If you had a problem with something that spins I would expect more of a vibration not just a single "clunk" going over bumps.
It is normal for it to have a little big of play when trying to turn it though even on the ground.

There's 48292 things that can cause front end noises when you hit a bump. Sometimes it's things unrelated to the suspension (like exhaust banging around) or sometimes it's not even in the front end and it just seems like it is because of the way the noise travels through the truck. Climb under there and start playing with stuff looking for loose parts. Maybe watch a few YouTube videos about finding front end noises. The sway bar bushings would be my first suspect without having anymore info on what was checked or noticed already.

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One inch of play on the front yoke means the u-joint is not just bad, it's getting ready to separate. Time to put your keys away until you get it changed. Serious - do not drive it until fixed. Otherwise, the sway bar cushions are probably shot. I just changed them on my 98. I think they were under $10.00/each (total of 2).

 

That is abnormal.
I assume you are talking about the front driveshaft from the transfer case to front diff..if so, remove it and inspect all parts associated with it, the yoke and front diff