You know your house better than the intruder. A surprise visit from a Louisville Slugger also works.
Our house is situated like that. My son left us an Aluminum bat that I keep near the front door. We have some serious butcher knives. I read a story about a woman whose house was broken into while she was cooking dinner. She had a pot of boiling water on the stove. The bad guys got into the kitchen and she threw the boiling water on them, then stabbed them many times.
ANY thing can be used as a weapon. You just have to be creative. And you have to be willing to take their life. They will not be so forgiving.