A five-band polarization-insensitive microwave metamaterial absorber (MMA) is discussed in this paper. The unit cell of the proposed MMA is composed of the top patch and a ground metallic plane, both separated by an FR4 dielectric substrate having an ultrathin thickness of 0.014 λ. The proposed absorber structure offers five different absorption peaks at 5.4 GHz (C band), 8.7 GHz (X band), 14.53 GHz, 15.25 GHz, and 15.68 GHz (Ku band) with the absorptivity of 98%, 86%, 99%, 99.8%, and 99.9%, respectively, for both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes. The analysis of the electric field, magnetic field, polarization, and angle independency has been performed to understand the absorption mechanism easily. The sensing behavior of the structure is analyzed by adding the analyte over the top metal layer. The microwave MMA has been fabricated and measured. The fabrication results agree with the simulation results. The design of the proposed absorber is expected to find application in explosive detection, sensing, defense, and airborne radar applications.