a common ancestor is an organism that is the

indirect ancestor of two or more diffrent organisms
indirect ancestor of one organism
direct ancestor of one organism
direct ancestor of two or more diffrent organisms

A common ancestor can be a direct ancestor of two or more different organisms, meaning it is the parent or grandparent of those organisms. It can also be an indirect ancestor of one organism, meaning it is not a direct parent but is still part of the ancestral lineage.