I think you might be confusing free play with lever travel. Free play is measured with the lever at rest. It’s the free movement before you start to push the mc plunger in. You can then adjust how the lever feels in its arc of travel. Then readjust free play if required.
On bikes with worn lever pivots this can be more tricky to get right. Treat older/worn bikes to new levers. It feels much nicer, less vibes, easy to adjust. Keep the old levers as spares.