Escalates rhymes with:
accumulates, calculates, circulates, distillates, emulates, extrapolates, formulates, immolates, innoculates, inoculates, isolates, manipulates, miscalculates, oscillates, overregulates, oxalates, postulates, recapitulates, regulates, simulates, speculates, stimulates, stipulates, undulates, vacillates
Escalates sounds like:
eicholtz, exalts, excludes, exults