Outlet will not accept load

I had a heater plugged into an outlet and suddenly it stopped working. I tried a trouble light on the same receptacle, however that too would not work . So I replaced the receptacle, and the problem still existed (the items work on other outlets). I tested the outlet and there shows 120v available, but when I plug anything in, it does not work. I checked the other 2 outlets on the same circuit, and they work fine. This is the 3rd outlet on a three outlet circuit with nothing else on it. Any help with this problem would be appreciated.

See if the socket shows 120V with the load plugged in. If not, you've got a bad connection (high resistance) somewhere between the 2nd and the 3rd receptacle. Since you've just replaced the receptacle, I'll assume everything is fine there. Check at the 2nd one for the problem. If it does show 120V, I'm stumped.

The problem is in the receptacle before this one, yes, even if it shows voltage.

Are the wires just stuck in the holes in the back of the receptacle?

voltage

It would show 120 volts if the wiring had failed and it was in series with a previous outlet being used by some device, or even a light fixture that was turned on, or a GFCI outlet with bad wiring.