If you do that the center part of the freewheel will still be on the hub but now the outer part and all the bearing balls will fall out. You still won't be able to get the axle out. The center part screws onto the hub. Again go through all the stuff at
www.sheldonbrown.com that deals with rear wheels and freewheels. That web site is the first place any of us should go to learn about what the parts are and what holds them together. The other excellent resource for learning is
http://www.parktool.com/repair/ with links to repair practices and how to use special bike tools.