The verb to lead rhymes with need, speed, and indeed, but the past tense is led that rhymes with dead. The famously dense metal lead also rhymes with dead. 

Here’s a quip to help you remember:
Lead in the water led Flint to disaster,
but “lead dead redemption” could come to be
if only its leaders would lead!

(This is the first in a series that I will publish periodically of my grammatical pet peeves, transformed into hopefully memorable quips to help you polish your work.)