Does Section 654 of the California Criminal Code allow a court to stay the execution of a sentence for a lesser, less severely punishable crime, but more severely punishable, crime-preventable, offence?

Section 654 provides in part: "An act or omission which is made punishable in different ways by different provisions of this code may be punished under either of such provisions, but in no case can it be punished under more than one; ..." Section 654 has been consistently interpreted to permit the court to punish, by imprisonment, for the lesser offense or less severely punishable offense and stay the execution of sentence for the greater offense. (See cases collected in People v. Mendevil, supra, 81 Cal.App.3d 84, 89, 146 Cal.Rptr. 65.)