diff --git a/python-package/lightgbm/dask.py b/python-package/lightgbm/dask.py
index 8cba6de46fb3..b3571bbd786f 100644
--- a/python-package/lightgbm/dask.py
+++ b/python-package/lightgbm/dask.py
@@ -170,6 +170,44 @@ def _machines_to_worker_map(machines: str, worker_addresses: List[str]) -> Dict[
     return out
 
 
+def _possibly_fix_worker_map_duplicates(worker_map: Dict[str, int], client: Client) -> Dict[str, int]:
+    """Fix any duplicate IP-port pairs in a ``worker_map``."""
+    worker_map = deepcopy(worker_map)
+    workers_that_need_new_ports = []
+    host_to_port = defaultdict(set)
+    for worker, port in worker_map.items():
+        host = urlparse(worker).hostname
+        if port in host_to_port[host]:
+            workers_that_need_new_ports.append(worker)
+        else:
+            host_to_port[host].add(port)
+
+    # if any duplicates were found, search for new ports one by one
+    for worker in workers_that_need_new_ports:
+        _log_info(f"Searching for a LightGBM training port for worker '{worker}'")
+        host = urlparse(worker).hostname
+        retries_remaining = 100
+        while retries_remaining > 0:
+            retries_remaining -= 1
+            new_port = client.submit(
+                _find_random_open_port,
+                workers=[worker],
+                allow_other_workers=False,
+                pure=False
+            ).result()
+            if new_port not in host_to_port[host]:
+                worker_map[worker] = new_port
+                host_to_port[host].add(new_port)
+                break
+
+        if retries_remaining == 0:
+            raise LightGBMError(
+                "Failed to find an open port. Try re-running training or explicitly setting 'machines' or 'local_listen_port'."
+            )
+
+    return worker_map
+
+
 def _train(
     client: Client,
     data: _DaskMatrixLike,
@@ -367,10 +405,19 @@ def _train(
             }
         else:
             _log_info("Finding random open ports for workers")
+            # this approach with client.run() is faster than searching for ports
+            # serially, but can produce duplicates sometimes. Try the fast approach one
+            # time, then pass it through a function that will use a slower but more reliable
+            # approach if duplicates are found.
             worker_address_to_port = client.run(
                 _find_random_open_port,
                 workers=list(worker_addresses)
             )
+            worker_address_to_port = _possibly_fix_worker_map_duplicates(
+                worker_map=worker_address_to_port,
+                client=client
+            )
+
         machines = ','.join([
             '%s:%d' % (urlparse(worker_address).hostname, port)
             for worker_address, port
diff --git a/tests/python_package_test/test_dask.py b/tests/python_package_test/test_dask.py
index 4597a4b60e45..1ed7284ce305 100644
--- a/tests/python_package_test/test_dask.py
+++ b/tests/python_package_test/test_dask.py
@@ -392,6 +392,37 @@ def test_find_random_open_port(client):
     client.close(timeout=CLIENT_CLOSE_TIMEOUT)
 
 
+def test_possibly_fix_worker_map(capsys, client):
+    client.wait_for_workers(2)
+    worker_addresses = list(client.scheduler_info()["workers"].keys())
+
+    retry_msg = 'Searching for a LightGBM training port for worker'
+
+    # should handle worker maps without any duplicates
+    map_without_duplicates = {
+        worker_address: 12400 + i
+        for i, worker_address in enumerate(worker_addresses)
+    }
+    patched_map = lgb.dask._possibly_fix_worker_map_duplicates(
+        client=client,
+        worker_map=map_without_duplicates
+    )
+    assert patched_map == map_without_duplicates
+    assert retry_msg not in capsys.readouterr().out
+
+    # should handle worker maps with duplicates
+    map_with_duplicates = {
+        worker_address: 12400
+        for i, worker_address in enumerate(worker_addresses)
+    }
+    patched_map = lgb.dask._possibly_fix_worker_map_duplicates(
+        client=client,
+        worker_map=map_with_duplicates
+    )
+    assert retry_msg in capsys.readouterr().out
+    assert len(set(patched_map.values())) == len(worker_addresses)
+
+
 def test_training_does_not_fail_on_port_conflicts(client):
     _, _, _, _, dX, dy, dw, _ = _create_data('binary-classification', output='array')