Toric codes are obtained by evaluating rational functions of a nonsingular toric variety at the algebraic torus. One can extend toric codes to the so called generalized toric codes. This extension consists on evaluating elements of an arbitrary polynomial algebra at the algebraic torus instead of a linear combination of monomials whose exponents are rational points of a convex polytope. We study their multicyclic and metric structure, and we use them to express their dual and to estimate their minimum distance.