They are both variables. But $age is a variable with a fixed name.
$$age is a variable who’s name is stored in $age. For example,
if $age contains “var”, $$age is the same as $var.
$test = ‘abcd';
is equivalent to
$holder = ‘test';
$$holder = ‘abcd';
$test = ‘abcd';
is equivalent to
$holder = ‘test';
$$holder = ‘abcd';