Could a benign tumour exhibit similar symptoms to a malignant one?

Yes: Benign or malignant, a mass can obstruct the gut or some other hollow organ, compress the nearby brain, become infected or necrotc, produce a troublesome hormone, or simply announce itself as a palpable mass in the breast, or on under the skin, or in a bone.

Well....: They could both grow to a large size and cause local damage and even death but malignant tumors would behave more aggressive locally and of course, they can spread (metastasize).