Yes, by simply referring to the displayObject provided in the FocusEvent, we can obtain a reference to the hovered object. This allows you to create generic references to the object being hovered, ultimately allowing you to place it on as many TextFields as you want.
import flash.events.FocusEvent;
import flash.text.TextField;
input1.addEventListener(FocusEvent.FOCUS_IN,inHand);
input1.addEventListener(FocusEvent.FOCUS_OUT,outHand);
//add all the other text input references like I did below...
input2.addEventListener(FocusEvent.FOCUS_IN, inHand);
input2.addEventListener(FocusEvent.FOCUS_OUT, outHand);
var def1:String = "Your text value here";
function inHand(evt:FocusEvent):void
{
var textField:TextField = TextField(evt.target);
textField.text = "";
}
function outHand(evt:FocusEvent):void
{
var textField:TextField = TextField(evt.target);
if(textField.text == "")
{
textField.text = def1;
}
}