Cutting multiple objects from a part

This is probably very simple but I cannot get it to work. 

I have a large master part and have modelled 20 smaller shapes I want to cut/subtract from it to create the final shape I want. 

I can cut/subtract the shapes one at a time but is there a way to cut all 20 solid objects  from the master solid object in one go? 

Also can I stop DS creating lots of surfaces when I cut the shapes?