Let's use the variable x to represent the shortest side of the triangle.
If one side is 4 times longer than the shortest side, it measures "4x".
If the third side is 3 cm less than twice the length of the shortest side, it measures "2x - 3".
So, if the perimeter is 46 cm, we have:
[tex]\begin{gathered} x+4x+2x-3=46 \\ 7x-3=46 \\ 7x=49 \\ x=\frac{49}{7}=7 \end{gathered}[/tex]So the shortest side measures 7 cm.