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sponge has 10 distinct synonyms spread across 4 of its 9 senses. Each sense below keeps its own list, because a synonym belongs to a meaning and not to a word: swapping one sense's substitute into another sense's sentence is how a thesaurus makes writing worse. WordNet records no antonym for it — antonymy is a relation between word forms rather than concepts, so it is deliberately sparse.
Counts are distinct word forms across every sense. A synonym that appears under three senses is counted once here and shown three times below, under each sense it belongs to.
a porous mass of interlacing fibers that forms the internal skeleton of various marine animals and usable to absorb water or any porous rubber or cellulose product similarly used
someone able to acquire new knowledge and skills rapidly and easily
“she soaks up foreign languages like a sponge”
Synonyms, antonyms and the broader and narrower relations for sponge come from Princeton University’s WordNet. Full sources and licences.
primitive multicellular marine animal whose porous body is supported by a fibrous skeletal framework; usually occurs in sessile colonies