def longest_common_prefix(words: List[str]) -> str:
    common_prefix = ""
    shortest_word = min(words, key=len)
    length_shortest_word = len(shortest_word)
    for index in range(length_shortest_word):
        for word in words:
            if shortest_word[index] != word[index]:
                return common_prefix
        common_prefix += shortest_word[index]
    return common_prefix