The present disclosure provides compositions, methods, kits, systems and apparatus that are useful for nucleic acid polymerization. In particular, modified polymerases and biologically active fragment thereof are provided that allow for nucleic acid amplification. In one aspect, the disclosure relates to modified polymerases useful for nucleic acid sequencing, genotyping, copy number variation analysis, paired-end sequencing and other forms of genetic analysis. In some aspects, the disclosure relates to modified polymerases useful for the generation of nucleic acid libraries or nucleic acid templates for use in various downstream processes. In some aspects, the disclosure relates to the identification of homologous amino acid mutations that can be transferred across classes or families of polymerases to provide novel polymerases with altered catalytic properties. In some aspects, the disclosure provides modified polymerases having enhanced catalytic properties as compared to a reference polymerase.