The two blanks in the sentences below can be filled in with anagrams, with the exception that a single letter has been changed between the two words. For example, given the clue sentence

The church congregation was shocked to hear the ______ speak on a ______ subject.

the answer words would be ABBOT and TABOO.

1. Despite his ______ life, the hermit was addicted to ______.
2. Despite the best efforts of the ______ , the game degenerated into ______.
3. Despite its many euphemisms, there is still not a ______ word for ______.
4. I doubt that anyone involved in the ______ from Egypt was wearing a ______.
5. Cupid's ______ has long been a symbol of romantic ______.
6. The ______ of the ______ team is ABC - air, blood, cardio.
7. On a ______ day, the MGM lion ______ as the movie began.
8. The ______ at the seance seemed ______ with spiritual power.

Answers:

1. PIOUS - OPIUM
2. COACH - CHAOS
3. POLITE - TOILET
4. EXODUS - TUXEDO
5. ARROW - ARDOR
6. MANTRA - TRAUMA
7. DREARY - ROARED
8. MEDIUM - IMBUED